An urgent call is being made by the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMC) for citizens to containerize their garbage properly amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The call follows findings from the Centre for Disease cControl that the coronavirus can be spread by touching surfaces touched or handled by a person with COVID-19.

“We ask that people, especially in quarantine areas that they take more care in packaging their garbage. We have always been preaching about containerization, now containerization has become even more important,” said Executive Director of the NSWMA, Audley Gordon.

At the same time, the World Health Organisation is making a similar appeal while stating that a lot more can be done to save lives. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has also warned that those who work in solid waste management ought to follow established guidelines for their safety and others. This means ensuring that the proper gears are worn at all times. This is to reduce the spread of the virus that has claimed thousands of lives.

“We wouldn’t want to have a situation where the virus leaves a particular home and our people are handling the garbage and are being infected in the process,” added Gordon.