PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) kits in use for non-medical purposes?

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) kits that were found on city roads might have been used for non-medical purposes, said a source from the Pollution Control Board, Assam on Monday.

Tension prevailed among the citizens after a video surfaced on social media, of a mentally challenged man roaming on the streets wearing used PPE kits near the Sarusajai Quarantine centre on Thursday evening.

According to reports, the person had collected the PPE kits from a dustbin nearby the Sarusajai quarantine centre. In another incident, a PPE kit was found lying on a road in the Lakhtokia area. "There have been no reports of leakage of PPE kits from hospitals and quarantine centres. According to guidelines of the Central Pollution Board, the bio medical waste generated from the hospitals and the quarantine centres are being disposed through the Common Bio Medical Waste Treatment Facility," added the source.

Further, the source claimed that the PPE kits are now available at the markets and various online portals. There are high possibilities that the kits recovered from the GMC dustbin were used for non-medical purpose, the source asserted. He added that the in regard of bio medical waste management, we are sharing the CPCB guidelines with the government on a regular basis.