Practice, benefits, and impact of personal protective equipment (PPE) during COVID-19 era: Envisioning the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs) through the lens of clean water sanitation, life below water, and life on land in Fiji: Research article

Chand, Aneesh A.; Lal, Prashant P.; Prasad, Kushal A.; Mamun, Kabir A.

BACKGROUND: The outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) highlights the global health emergency. To limit the rate of COVID-19 transmission to health care workers, adequate personal protective equipment's (PPE's) are required. Emerging reports indicate that the widespread usage of PPE during the COVID-19 outbreak has exacerbated plastic contamination in the ocean. PURPOSE: This paper attempts to understand the influence of practice, benefits, and impact of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 crisis on clean water sanitation, life below water, and life on land (SDGs 6, 14, and 15 respectively) in Fiji and assess the effectiveness of measurements taken to deal with this crisis. Fiji is a small Pacific Island Country (PIC) and the global crisis of COVID-19 entered the Fijian border on 19th, March 2020. Sadly, the second wave of COVID-19 was reported on 18th, April 2021, which began at a managed quarantine facility after contact between a couple returning from India to Fiji and a soldier. Since then the number of cases have been increasing daily and posing a risk to the public. MATERIALS AND METHOD: A personal observations were made to collect the PPE pollution on the streets, near roads, car parks, markets, and towns. RESULTS: The widespread PPE pollution was noticed, the common PPE found in the Vesivesi road of Suva, Fiji was facemask (61.36%) and hand gloves (38.64%), as it is mostly used by the general public, police offices, municipal waste management, shopping malls works, and medical care workers. Face shield littering was limited due to fewer users. CONCLUSIONS: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this study stresses a great concern on enabling SDGs 6, 14, and 15 and how the use of PPEs during COVID-19 has impacted the natural environment. It is critical to remember that managing PPE waste during a contagious pandemic should be treated as an emergency and handled quickly.