Ministry of Environment: "86 Tons of COVID Medical Waste Incinerated... Processing Capacity Available"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The Ministry of Environment announced on the 27th that it has stably incinerated approximately 86 tons of medical waste related to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

On the same day, Minister of Environment Cho Myung-rae held a video conference at the Ministry of Environment's comprehensive situation room to inspect the safety management status of COVID-19 related waste and discuss future response measures with the heads of seven regional environmental offices.

According to the report, from the 23rd of last month to the 26th of this month, the Ministry of Environment has stably incinerated 86,355 kg of COVID-19 related medical waste without backlog.

Specifically, ▲ 28,101 kg of isolation medical waste from confirmed patients in hospitals ▲ 2,484 kg of isolation medical waste generated from confirmed cases converted during self-quarantine ▲ 55,770 kg of medical waste generated at temporary living facilities for Wuhan evacuees.

Currently, after checking the capacity and conditions of medical waste incineration facilities nationwide, it has been confirmed that there is no problem with the capacity for processing COVID-19 related medical waste so far.

This is because, starting from January this year, disposable diapers with low infection risk were excluded from medical waste, resulting in about a 15% decrease in general medical waste generation compared to the previous year, creating spare capacity for processing.

Additionally, the Ministry of Environment has provided 52,249 waste kits containing disinfectants and dedicated bags free of charge to ensure the safe disposal of waste generated by self-quarantined individuals.

The Ministry of Environment plans to actively support various supplies for the safe management of COVID-19 related waste, compensation for business losses of medical waste disposal companies, and provision of protective suits in consultation with financial authorities.

Minister Cho stated, "I hope that the regional task forces of the environmental offices and local governments will closely cooperate and actively respond to ensure thorough safety management of COVID-19 related waste."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.