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| Since January 11, in response to the increasing number of F0 cases in the community, Nghe An Urban Environment and Construction Joint Stock Company has established a team of 15 members to collect waste from families with F0 cases being treated at home. Accordingly, team members will wear protective gear, ride motorbikes equipped with sealed trash cans and disinfectant sprayers to collect waste. Since taking up the task, these workers have been provided with food and accommodation right at the company. Photo: DT |
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| The waste treatment process includes the following steps: Make a list of addresses, wear protective clothing, spray disinfectant at the beginning of the trip, collect garbage at the house with F0 cases, disinfect their garbage bags and put them in sealed bins, then go to the next point. After about 1 hour, when the 2 trash bins are full, bring them back to the collection point, pour them into a specialized vehicle, spray disinfectant again, and then take them for separate treatment. Photo: DT |
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| At first, when there were not too many F0 cases and they were strictly managed, the company could collect them separately based on the F0 list provided by the health stations. They even distributed separate garbage bags to these families. However, in recent days, when the number of F0 cases reached 10,000 cases per day, updating the list was out of control. The commune and ward health stations could not update all of them and the amount of medical waste from families with F0 was also overloaded. Photo: DT |
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| At the waste collection point on 72m road (Quan Bau ward) - the workplace and livelihood of many workers, the risk of exposure to medical waste from F0 cases in the community is inevitable. Photo: DT |
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| Freelance workers who collect scrap metal use sickles to cut open garbage bags to find scrap. Photo: DT |
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| In the garbage bags, there are many masks and blister packs mixed with household waste. This could be medical waste from F0s in the community. Photo: DT |
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| Simple equipment of a woman who collects scrap metal. She collects cigarette cases and sells them to scrap shops. Photo: DT |
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| Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuoc - a worker at Nghe An Urban Environment and Construction Joint Stock Company shared: "In recent days, many workers in the company have had to take time off work due to Covid-19, the remaining workers have had to do the work of their colleagues, so it is even harder." In the photo is a worker who fell while carrying a heavy garbage truck to the collection point. Photo: DT |
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Aware of the risk of contracting Covid-19 while working, workers at Nghe An Urban Environment and Construction Joint Stock Company try to take the best possible preventive and protective measures to protect themselves and their families. "Fortunately, we finish work at 12 midnight, when our relatives have gone to bed, so we somewhat limit the risk of exposure right after work," said a worker. Photo: DT |
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A freelance worker who collects bottles and cans wipes his face because dust has gotten into his eyes. Faced with the risk of exposure to F0 medical waste, those who make a living by collecting trash have no possible prevention plan. Many of them accept this with the thought: Come what may. Photo: DT |
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| Although the Ministry of Health has issued specific instructions on the treatment of medical waste for F0 patients treated at home, in reality, this issue still has many shortcomings. Photo: DT |
Faced with the complicated situation of the epidemic, the Ministry of Health recently sent an official dispatch to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities on strengthening waste management for Covid-19 cases at home.
Accordingly, localities need to develop plans to collect, transport, and treat waste generated from F0 cases being managed at home in the area. In addition, units must provide guidance on waste classification, specifically:
- Domestic waste generated from the quarantine room of F0 managed at home (including discarded fabrics and clothes) and masks and personal protective equipment discarded by caregivers when in contact with F0 are considered infectious waste. These wastes must be placed in bags or bins with lining, and the outside of the bags and bins must be marked "Waste at risk of containing SARS-CoV-2".
- Household waste generated from other areas of the house with F0 people must be classified according to local instructions and disposed of according to regulations.
- Localities organize the collection, transportation, and treatment of waste, arrange for people to collect bags and containers of infectious waste from F0s managed at home to bring to storage locations, and transfer to appropriate functional units selected by the locality for treatment according to regulations.
