If they use RO it's sterile. Pore size on an RO filter is smaller than the diameter of viral particles. Standard RO purification is used for injectable products from pharma.
Ion exchange is much different than RO and should not be lumped in together. Perhaps you are confusing purified water with deionized water? DI water is different than purified and you generally use DI water for chemical experiments. DI water is achieved after passing water across ion exchange resins and does not actually say anything about the purification.
Bottom line - RO is generally considered more sterile than heat distilled. DI is not RO, but water can be both purified and then deionized if necessary.
victor809 wrote: