More attention should be paid to medical waste treatment

One of the issues that needs attention in the context of the complicated development of the COVID-19 epidemic is the treatment of medical and domestic waste at medical facilities, concentrated quarantine facilities and locked-down residential areas.

Workers from the Urban Environment Company disinfect medical waste related to the COVID-19 epidemic.
Workers from the Urban Environment Company disinfect medical waste related to the COVID-19 epidemic.

If this source of waste is not strictly managed and properly collected, transported and treated, it will become a source of disease transmission in the community as well as causing environmental pollution. The results of inspection and supervision by specialised agencies at concentrated quarantine facilities show that there are still many limitations such as areas for garbage and protective equipment collection being without roofs; lack of boxes to store the protective gear of medical staff when entering and leaving the residences of people in quarantine; unsanitary public toilet areas, and so on.

In the current epidemic situation, special attention should be paid to the treatment of domestic waste in areas where people are infected or suspected of being infected with COVID-19. Waste in these areas is at risk of causing disease transmission, so it should be collected and treated as hazardous waste and must strictly comply with all regulations to ensure safety.

The People’s Committees of provinces and cities should urgently develop and adjust medical waste treatment plans and organise the implementation of plans on the collection, transportation, storage and treatment of medical waste to suit the situation of the COVID-19 epidemic, ensuring safety and environmental sanitation.

Specialised agencies should guide and inspect medical facilities, treatment areas, patient care and quarantine areas to collect, store and transfer domestic and medical waste in accordance with instructions on waste management and hygiene in the prevention and control of the epidemic as issued by the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

Organisations and individuals are requested to strictly implement the management of medical and domestic waste generated at workplaces, dormitories for workers, households, commercial centres, supermarkets, markets, restaurants, apartment complexes, funeral centres, and so on.

The work of collecting, transporting and treating hazardous waste at medical facilities, quarantine and blockade areas is assigned to specialised units for implementation. Units must strictly follow the collection, transportation and treatment process, absolutely not allowing garbage become a source of disease transmission to the community.

Meanwhile, in order to create conditions for those quarantined to classify and dispose of garbage correctly, units need to distribute garbage bags by colour to help people classify garbage easily; in the corridors in quarantine and blockade areas, it is necessary to arrange hard plastic containers with lids and bags for infectious waste labelled “Waste possibly containing SARS-CoV-2”. It is also necessary to calculate the shortest transport distance, avoid as much as possible going through residential areas, crowded places and ensuring absolute safety in the transportation process.

In addition to the efforts being made by authorities at all levels, each citizen needs to comply with the recommendations of the health sector on health care and implement the 5K message, collect daily-life and hazardous waste according to regulations; while at the same time using and disposing of masks properly, thereby contributing to environmental protection and repelling the COVID-19 epidemic as soon as possible.

THAI SON