As people are increasingly using protective gear to protect themselves from Covid-19, health experts have cautioned that the safety equipment can become the means of transmission of the deadly viral infection due to lack of their proper management, use and disposal.
They said many doctors and nurses are getting infected with Covid-19 for not properly using and discarding the safety gears. Although general people do not need to wear personal protective equipment (PPEs), they are still buying substandard and used PPEs from roadside vendors, exposing themselves to infection, reported UNB.
On April 25, a mobile court conducted a drive in Dhaka’s Vatara area and seized a large number of used white gowns and masks that were collected from different hospitals and prepared for sale after a wash and ironing.
Health experts said general people only need to wear masks and should refrain from buying protective gears from street vendors. They said washing hands with soap frequently or using hand sanitizer and staying indoors as much as possible are the best measures to remain safe from the novel coronavirus – the virus that causes Covid-19 – instead of going out in those substandard protective gears.
A group of researchers at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill said the virus may survive on PPE gears for hours, posing a continued risk of transfer to the users during handling over multiple uses.
"Many people are using masks and gloves and thinking that they are safe. If these protective gears are not properly used and safely disposed of those can cause to the virus contraction,” said Dr Samia Tahmina, additional director general at the Directorate General of Health Services.
She said anyone wearing gloves can touch surfaces or objects that might have become contaminated by coronavirus droplets, and the virus can travel to his/her home. "If this contaminated glove is not removed and disposed of properly, it can cause the transmission of the virus."
Talking to UNB, Professor Dr Mohammed Atiqur Rahman, treasurer at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), said there were some guidelines provide by the World Health Organization (WHO) about the use and disposal of PPEs – gloves, medical masks, goggles or face shields, and gowns.
According to WHO, masks are effective only when used in combination with frequent hand-cleaning with sanitizer or soap and water. "Before putting on a mask, people should clean hands with soap and water. Masks must be replaced with new ones as soon as it is damp, while the single-use masks should not be reused."
Dr Atiqur said if its possible people should use single-use masks and gloves and discard it in a closed bin, and then wash hands with soap.
Similarly, the doctors and nurses who attend Covid-19 patients, should use PPEs and perform hand hygiene before putting on and after taking off it.
The discarded PPEs should be thrown in an appropriate waste container after use.
"These are the main guidelines of WHO about using and disposing of the safety gears. If these guidelines are not followed, people may invite danger," he added.
Prof Dr Harun-or-Rashid, head of medicine department at Dhaka Community Medical College and Hospital (DCMCH), said many doctors and nurses are not aware of proper use of coronavirus safety gears.
He said the government should make the health professionals aware of the safe use of safety gears as they are the frontline corona warriors.
He further added that common people need not to use surgical or N95 masks and PPE.