Nongpoh: Ri Bhoi district administration has issued strict advisory to concerned organisations while disposing of used medical equipments to avoid any adverse effects on human health and the environment due to COVID-19 pandemic, an official press statement issued here on Monday said.
The deputy commissioner of the district has directed all health care facilities comprising of — hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, dispensaries, veterinary institutions, animal houses, pathological laboratories, pharmacies, blood banks, Ayush hospitals, clinical establishments, research or educational institutions, health camps, medical or surgical camps, vaccination camps, blood donation camps, first aid rooms of schools, forensic laboratories, research labs and the urban local bodies to strictly follow the norms and standards as laid down by the Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules and its amendments for generating, collecting, receiving, storing, transporting, treatment, processing or conversion, recycling, disposing or destruction, use, offering for sale, transfer or handling bio-medical waste and COVID-19 bio-medical waste in any manner and as well as the ‘Guidelines for Handling, Treatment and Disposal of Waste Generated during treatment, diagnosis, quarantine of COVID-19 patients-revision-4’.
The DC has also appeal to all the general public to adhere to environmentally sound management of used mask, gloves and PPE in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Central Pollution Control Board.
According to the guidelines, waste masks and gloves in general households should be kept in paper bag for a minimum of 72 hours prior to disposal of the same as dry general solid waste after cutting the same to prevent re-use, discarded PPEs from general public at commercial establishments, shopping malls, institutions, offices, etc should be stored in separate bin for 3 days, subsequently, disposed of as dry general solid waste after cutting.
Moreover, used masks from visitors to crematorium, graveyards including crematorium staff should be collected in separate bins and stored for 72 hours prior to disposal as dry general solid waste through local bodies, the DC said.
