Assam: Man roams city streets wearing used PPE thrown in dumpster

A Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) suit, which was carelessly dumped at a dumpster near a COVID-19 quarantine centre at Sarusajai stadium in Assam’s Guwahati, was seen being worn by a man suspected to be mentally challenged. The man was later spotted roaming city streets wearing the same PPE, putting his and several other lives in danger.

Guwahati (Assam): A man suspected to be mentally unstable was seen wearing a used Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) suit dumped carelessly in a dumpster on National Highway 37 in Assam’s Guwahati.

The dumpster is barely one kilometre away from the COVID-19 designated quarantine centre at Sarusajai stadium run by the Government of Assam.

The man was later spotted roaming city streets wearing the same PPE, risking his and several other lives.

“These people disposed of the PPE kit in the dustbin so carelessly. Now there is this man, who is wearing it. We don’t know if the person is mentally challenged or stable. But we have been requesting him not to wear it, but he doesn’t listen to us,” a local resident told ETV Bharat.

The elderly man added, “It isn’t fair to dispose of such things in a dustbin used by the general public...it has been dumped here by the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC).

This is despite the guidelines issued by health experts over proper disposal of PPE kits and other medical equipment used by essential services personnel on COVID-19 duty.

It may be mentioned here that the number of COVID-19 positive cases have been on the rise in Assam, with the state recording 22 cases over the past two days, taking the toll to 86.

So far, two people have died of COVID-19 in Assam.