After scraping by the first wave of COVID-19, countries once again brace for the health and economics repercussions of the resurgence of the virus. Multiple industries across the globe report a projected dive in the market as activities related to consumption and production plummet. As of October 23, 2020, Japan and the European Union draws concern over the continuous interaction of the virus towards their economy as new cases, resurgence, and an increased testing capabilities surface.
Japan manufacturing activity as the worlds third-largest economy experiences a manufacturing decline as well as a high COVID-19 contraction rate in its service sector, and the same could be said about the Eurozone’s service sector which covers a large part of its economy as well. If the decline continues, experts predict that the European Union may experience a double-dip recession. In fact, a lot of other countries have experience at least a version of economic insecurity over the pandemic, and at some point, the service sector must reopen to mitigate equally permanent economic risks.
While the healthcare industry has created applauded efforts in the treatment of patients with COVID-19, it seems that prevention is still a preferable approach to the rate of resurgence that is happening globally during the second wave. Mandatory restrictions such as the wearing of personal protective equipment and a sanitary system of medical waste disposal proves to be fundamental towards dramatically decreasing the rate of transmission.
COVID-19: Features and Transmission
SARS-CoV-2, also known as COVID-19 belongs to the Betacoronavirus category of viruses with the appearance of a crown under a microscopic level. This places the virus under the same lineage as other coronaviruses such as:
- Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV & SARS-CoV-2)
- Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV)
- Human coronavirus 229E (HCoV-229E)
- Human coronavirus OC43 (HCoV-OC43)
These are viruses that target the respiratory system which symptoms can range from the common cold to severe respiratory tract infections depending on the strength of the virus to the immune system of the infected. Immunocompromised persons such as those who are undergoing chemotherapy, the elderly, infants, individuals with HIV/AIDS, and more will likely experience the virus at an acute degree. Case in point, SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV’s mortality rates range up to 10% and 35%.
Furthermore, like other coronaviruses and respiratory pathogens, COVID-19 is primarily transmitted through respiratory droplets through the act of coughing or sneezing. Meanwhile, exposure to environments that carry residues of these pathogens can transmit the virus through individuals touching infected surface and then their face, eyes, mouth, etc.
The lifespan of the virus on surfaces range from a day to almost a week:
- Metal (doorknobs, silverware, jewelry): up to 5 days
- Wood (Furniture, flooring): up to 4 days
- Plastics: up to 3 days
- Stainless Steel (Pans, pots, refrigerators): up to 3 days
- Glass: Up to 5 days
That is why proper protocols to protect individuals from highly infectious environments such ashealthcare facilities with tons of medical waste and crowded areas are needed.
Protecting Households & Communities from Transmission
Like other strains of the coronavirus, COVID-19 is also sensitive to high temperatures and ultraviolet rays. Existing research suggests that the virus seems to become inactive at about 27° C and can be effectively deactivated through solvents like:
- Ether (75%) –
- Ethanol Chlorine-containing disinfectant
- Peroxyacetic acid
- Chloroform with the exclusion of chlorhexidine
Using these cleaning agents on an individual, household, and organizational level is strictly advised by regulatory agencies along with other measures to decontaminate the work environment and curb the spread of disease.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) prescribes the following general guidance for workers and employers to be safe, especially if the economy and services are going to open once again:
- Frequent washing of hands with soap and water, or if unavailable, the sanitation of one’s hands using at least 60% alcohol.
- Avoidance of usual bacteria/virus-spreading habits such as touching one’s eyes, nose, or mouth, especially if one’s hands are unwashed.
- Maintaining about six-foot of distance from other people
- Wearing of personal protective equipment such as masks, gloves, and the like
Environmental Decontamination
Routine cleaning of facilities that are routinely exposed to different pathogens are highly necessary. Establishments like hospitals, testing clinics, laboratories, etc. generate medical wastes that do not only contain COVID-19 but other infectious substances that have a high risk of injuring and infecting individuals that it encounters if improperly disposed of.
Medical wastes include but are not limited to:
Sharps Waste
These include biohazards such as used and unused needles, syringes, scalpels, broken glass, lancets, insulin pens, etc. Sharps waste have the capacity to puncture the skin and transmit disease and infection.
In fact, needlestick injuries are extremely common. Center for Disease Control and Prevention details that there are approximately 385,000 contaminated sharps-related injuries annually just in the healthcare industry; these injuries occurring frequently towards healthcare professionals.
The most common afflictions arising from these injuries are:
- Hepatitis B & C
- HIV
Pathological/Infectious Waste
These refer to contaminated wastes such as cultures, blood samples, swabs, bandages, and other materials that have been contaminated with blood or other potentially infectious materials. A subset of infectious wastes are pathological wastes that are separately categorized to encompass body parts, tissues, organs, specimens, and objects containing bodily fluids.
Infectious wastes have the propensity to spread highly virulent diseases such as COVID-19 because of the virus’ properties.
Because of these, medical waste disposal must be stringent and make sure these wastes have been properly handled, sterilized, or destroyed to prevent further risks against other individuals and the environment.
Biohazard waste disposal companies ensure that these risks drastically decrease through licensed facilities that properly gets rid of the infection through incineration or autoclaving; where medical waste go through high temperatures to ensure that infections, bacteria, and viruses that come with it die – especially if they are subject for recycling.
The surge of medical materials used come with a surge of medical wastes especially in the context of the pandemic, as much as it is important to distance and protect individuals; communities have the responsibility to manage infectious wastes.