HSPCB issues guidelines to manage bio-medical waste of COVID-19 patients
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HSPCB issues guidelines to manage bio-medical waste of COVID-19 patients

The healthcare facilities are required to keep separate color coded bins, bag and containers

HSPCB issues guidelines to manage bio-medical waste of COVID-19 patients

Gurugram: With the threat of the coronavirus growing by the day, the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) on Thursday issued guidelines for the management of bio-medical waste (BMW) derived from the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

According to the notification, the pollution control board directed the healthcare facilities having isolation wards for COVID-19 patients, sample collection centres and laboratories to follow the guidelines to ensure safe handling and disposal of bio-medical waste generated during the diagnostic and treatment of suspected or confirmed patients.

The healthcare facilities are required to keep separate color coded bins, bag and containers in the wards and maintain proper segregation of waste as per the bio-medical waste management (BMWM) rules, 2016. Double layered bags should be used for the collecting waste from COVID-19 isolation wards to ensure that no accidental leakage occurs from the bags.

It is mandatory to label bags and containers used for collecting bio-medical waste from COVID-19 wards. They should be labelled as COVID-19 waste to enable common bio-medical waste treatment facility (CBMWTF) to identify the waste easily for priority treatment and disposal immediately upon receiving .

The guidelines further said that bio-medical waste should be collected and stored separately by the same CBMWTF staff prior handling it. A dedicated collection bin labelled as COVID-19 should be used to store waste from the isolation wards.

The inner and outer surface of the containers, bins and trolleys used for storage of COVID-19 waste should be disinfected with sodium hypochlorite solutions.

Waste collectors have been advised to take all precautions while collecting the waste.

Kuldeep Singh, regional officer, HSPCB said,"We have prepared guidelines which is circulated to all the health care facilities, laboratories and collection centres to strictly adhere to the norms. It aims to prevent the spread of coronavirus. If anyone found violating the rules, strict action would be taken against him/her.