ABSTRACT
Amid COVID-19, world has gone under environmental reformation in terms of clean rivers and blue skies, whereas, generation of biomedical waste management has emerged as a big threat for the whole world, especially in the developing nations. Appropriate biomedical waste management has become a prime concern worldwide in the pandemic era of COVID-19 as it may affect environment and living organisms up to a great extent. The problem has been increased many folds because of unexpected generations of hazardous biomedical waste which needs extraordinary attentions. In this paper, the impacts and future challenges of solid waste management especially the biomedical waste management on environment and human beings have been discussed amid COVID-19 pandemic. The paper also recommends some guidelines to manage the bulk of medical wastes for the protection of human health and environment. The paper summarizes better management practices for the wastes including optimizing the decision process, infrastructure, upgrading treatment methods and other activities related with the biological disasters like COVID-19. As achieved in the past for viral disinfection, use of UV- rays with proper precautions can also be explored for COVID-19 disinfection. For biomedical waste management, thermal treatment of waste can be an alternative, as it can generate energy along with reducing waste volume by 80-95%. The Asian Development Bank observed that additional biomedical waste was generated ranged from 154 to 280 tons/day during the peak of COVID-19 pandemic in Asian megacities such as Manila, Jakarta, Wuhan, Bangkok, Hanoi, Kuala Lumpur.
ABSTRACT
During this pandemic time while finding the (SARS-CoV-2) infected person many of the applications got active where various nations participated actively. The main device involved in the whole process is Smartphone. The existing applications are focusing on the use of Bluetooth technology. Bluetooth is limited with the area it can cover and noise it produces to broadcast the messages to the neighbors. Also, while searching the position of the infected person one concern could be that is Position of the smartphone accurate? or for how long the tracing will happen? While tracing the position of the person whether infected or not infected, the compromise cannot be done. At the pandemic situation, the little mistake of the position will cost the life of a person and the growing number of infected persons will yield to an exponential cost. Also, the life of the smartphone to keep working needs energy through battery. Continuous localization will need continuous flow of the energy for that device. Thus, the smartphone needs to be charged after a period of time. So, when a person is in a public place, he will need his smartphone to be active. Our main concern with the whole paper is to find the solution through the simulation for the position accuracy of the smartphone as well as to manage the energy consumption. © 2022 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: To study the impact, awareness and preparedness of COVID-19, a “pandemic” that has aroused the attention of the entire world because of rapid infection rates;among the targeted rural communities as basis to analyze their self-sustainability level. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed methodology/approach combining critical literature review and questionnaire-based survey has been followed in two villages, covering a sample of 150 households located in Solan district of Himachal Pradesh, India. The parameters were selected to check awareness/preparedness regarding basic guidelines, immunity, requirements of essential facilities to deal with COVID-19 patients, the effect of lockdown on social and financial status, difficulties in education. Findings: The villages have the potential to transform into Smart Villages or Smart Communities with the adaption of self-sustainable processes. The self-reliance on agriculture and traditional lifestyle in targeted rural areas make them relatively safer as compared to the urban areas. The community's overall awareness about COVID-19 and its preparedness was found satisfactory, with some variations that require more innovative strategies with academic interventions. Research limitations/implications: Although the scope of the study was limited to two remote villages of Himachal Pradesh (India), the results could be generalized for in-depth understanding about other villages in the state to convert them into smart villages. Originality/value: It summarizes a systemic perspective based on selected parameters on how COVID-19 lockdown has affected different aspects of life in rural communities. Further, collaborative efforts and adoption of self-sustainability model can lead to the remarkable transformation of villages into smart villages. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.