Minister Reveals Infectious Medical Waste Reach 1,100 tons
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24 June 2020 21:05 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar said the volume of infectious medical waste throughout Indonesia as of June 8, 2020, reached over 1,100 tons.
“[The waste] reached more than 1,100 tons, maybe 1,200 tons,” said Siti Nurbaya during a meeting with the House of Representatives (DPR) Commission IV in Jakarta today, June 24.
The figure was unfortunately not obtained from complete data since four provinces have not submitted their number on infectious waste, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. “But we continue to ask them. We will control it again and follow it up,” said the minister.
Based on the temporary data, the largest hazardous and toxic or B3 waste produced from the Covid-19 handling was generated from Region II at 478.18 tons. The regions include Banten, Jakarta, West Java, East Java, and Yogyakarta.
Due to the vital issue of the management of infectious biomedical waste from Covid-19 facilities, Siti Nurbaya said that her side had demanded the regional administrations be more aggressive in dealing with it since the onset of the virus outbreak.
According to the minister, the efforts, including reducing the number of medical waste and studying and supporting the management capacity, were necessary in order to break the chain of the coronavirus transmission.
Read: Coronavirus Pandemic Raises Question about Medical Waste
ANTARA