COVID-19: How to dispose of used face mask, gloves to prevent infection among garbage collectors

CAIRO 11 April 2020: Medical waste of face masks and gloves should be washed before being disposed of, in a bid to prevent passing the novel Coronavirus (C0VID-19) to the garbage collectors.

As a part of its environmental campaign “Live Green,” launched by the Ministry of Environment, people should follow certain hygienic measures concerning the used face masks and gloves, publishing a promotional video to increase the awareness of this hygienic measure.



As per the ministry instructions, the used gloves and face mask should be washed with water and soap for 20 seconds, and then be cut into small parts to prevent re-using them. Finally, it is safe to dispose of them inside a plastic bag.

Garbage collectors are most vulnerable to the infection as they directly deal with waste on a daily basis. So, Cairo Governorate launched on Thursday a campaign to provide the collectors with masks, gloves and sanitizers.

Meanwhile, head of the General Syndicate of Cleaning and Environmental Workers Amin Hassan called upon the Ministry of Environment to provide the cleaning workers with medical face masks and gloves, al-Watan newspaper reported on Friday.

As yet, the global cases infected with the virus reached more than 1.7 million people and 103,521 deaths were reported, while the recovered cases rose to 382,049. On March 10, 2020, the virus was announced a global pandemic by the World Health Organization.