IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON MEDICAL WASTE MANAGEMENT IN JORDAN

Although the direct impact of COVID-19 is on human health, it has substantial impacts oneconomic, social, cultural and environmental issues. The priority of the international efforts was to find a vaccine for COVID-19. The impacts on other sectors, such as medical waste management,have not been given the same attention, especially in Jordan. The purpose of this paper is todetermine the impact of COVID-19 on medical waste management in Jordan. The studyinvestigated the amount of waste generated in 2018 and 2020 in 54 facilities that generate medicalwaste. The results showed that the governmental implementations and curfew period havesignificant impacts on the amount of medical waste. The hospital that treats COVID-19 patients,private hospitals and institutions, showed an increase in the quantity of medical waste while thegovernmental hospitals, health care centers, laboratories, and industries showed a decrease inwaste generation during the year 2020. In some months, the amount of waste from COVID-19hospitals increased up to 3 folds in 2020 compared with 2018 data. Health care centers, labs,institutions and industries generated zero waste during the curfew period. It was recommended tokeep control and inspection on medical waste streams to avoid illegal disposal, or poor handlingand transportation measures.