I wasn't really trying to say anything about covid, just that there are a lot of bacteria and microbes that can go dormant in soil and then become active again when exposed to light and fresh air. There have been cases where people living close to a cemetary that had been flooded became ill because of the exposed graves that still contained viable e coli, or typhoid
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/cemetery-soil-human-remains