KUCHING, 13 September: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected not only human lives, but also the environment.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg opined that the situation has become a major threat to both public health and the environment.
“While the pandemic situation has improved the air quality and reduced greenhouse gas emission around the world in 2020, there are also negative consequences towards the environment,” he quipped, adding that the use of personal protective equipments (PPEs) such as masks and hand gloves have lead to the increase in medical waste.
Citing Asian Development Bank 2020, he said cities like Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Hanoi and Bangkok produce up to 154 to 280 million tonnes more medical wastes per day than before the pandemic.
Abang Johari remarked that Sarawak alone produces up to 628,000 used face masks in a single day.
“If these PPEs are not properly disposed of, they would lead to major environmental impact,” Abang Johari said, warning that it could pollute rivers with the deadly virus and cause possible reinfections.
“Therefore, I urge members of the public to be careful of the third wave of COVID-19 and be reminded of the dangers of indiscriminate disposal of the PPEs,” he said.
Earlier, the Chief Minister officiated the Ninth Chief Minister’s Environmental Award (CMEA) at a hotel here this morning.
The award aims to recognise industries, businesses, local authorities and the individuals to demonstrate their corporate environmental responsibility through their organisational green initiatives in reducing carbon footprints in their production processes and operations.
