Is the major reason for the spread of Covid-19 is improper disposal of clinical waste?
Is the major reason for the spread of Covid-19 is improper disposal of clinical waste? The federal government has developed the ‘Green Stimulus and Green Recovery process’ in order to revive economy and to ensure that economic activities after when the Covid-19 lockdown scenario comes to an end do not harm nature.
The Adviser to Prime Minister on climate change, Malik Amin, on the World Environment Day held by Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) said:
“The government has introduced the green stimulus package during the lockdown to improve green cover across the country. The 10 billion Tree Tsunami project has been utilised to employ 65,000 people, most of them had lost their jobs in urban areas of the country and had returned to their native rural localities during the lockdown“.
These jobs were mostly related to nurseries established to promote greenery and to check wildfires in forest areas during peak summer.
Pakistan had become the first nation in the world to repurpose World Bank funds available to it to revive lost wild habitats in the post-Covid-19 situation.
A massive rise in population and the deficiency of a proper policy that may constructively employ youth has also added to the destruction of forests and natural reserves in the country.
Environmentalist Saquib Ejaz Hussain showing same concerns said that hospitals, isolation and quarantine facilities generate infectious waste being generated which could become a major source of Corona virus spread in the country.
Saquib further said: “There is a dire need to enforce safety guidelines on this matter for immediate and safe disposal of hazardous clinical waste instead of handling it through conventional means of garbage collection”.
The former director-general of the National Institute of Oceanography, Dr Shahid Amjad, suggested that in order to preserve and protect the country’s marine ecosystems, the need to conserve mangrove forests of the country is extremely important. Apart from this, the conservation of coastal resources, Amjad highlighted should be made part of the national accounting system owing to their importance for a big section of Pakistani population.