Medical Waste Up 200 Percent in Jakarta Since June

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The volume of hazardous and toxic waste or medical waste generated in Jakarta has jumped up to 200 percent since June this year when the second wave of COVID-19 cases hit the capital, the Jakarta Provincial Environment Office has reported.

The medical waste comprised used personal protective equipment, antigen PCR swab test results, and vaccination waste, it said.

"It could increase up to more than 200 percent from hospitals alone since some of the hospitals were specially designed to handle COVID-19 cases," head of the hazardous and toxic waste management section of the Jakarta Provincial Environment Office, Rosa Ambarsari, said in Jakarta on Monday.

According to Ambarsari, the increase in medical waste resulted from the influx of patients in hospitals and isolation centers when the second wave of COVID-19 cases hit Jakarta in June.

The volume of vaccination waste, such as syringes, also increased as the Jakarta provincial government intensified the mass vaccination program, she said.

The environment office had to work hard to handle a surge in medical waste which came not only from hospitals but also public health service posts, she added. “At the beginning, we were not too well prepared to handle the waste, which came from isolation centers and households by sudden,” she said.

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