Centre issues guidelines for disposal of biomedical waste from quarantined households

With an increasing number of Indians going into home quarantine as a precautionary measure in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs issued detailed guidelines for all Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) for proper collection and disposal of biomedical waste from quarantined households.

New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on Thursday issued detailed guidelines for all Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) for proper collection and disposal of biomedical waste from quarantined households.

The guidelines issued by the Housing Ministry ask to adopt maximum precautions while collecting biomedical waste from quarantined households.

"Before collecting the waste, the house and the disposal packet should be sanitized and then waste should be disposed of through incineration," officials said.

Officials also said that all smart cities and the ULBs in India have been leveraging technologies during COVID-19 pandemic.

"Through the use of technologies, cities are providing all services including medical services at the doorstep of the citizens," officials said.

The Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry, meanwhile, has been providing three meals a day to about 100,000 urban poor and homeless in 1422 DAY-NULM shelters for homeless being run in various cities across India.

"Residents are also being educated about benefits of personal hygiene, hand wash and masks," officials said.

Sources in the Ministry said that Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday will participate in the India Foundation Web Dialogue on COVID-19 and Challenges of Mobility.