COVID-19 Waste as Source of Microplastics in the Environment: Implication for Aquatic Species, Human, and Remediation Measures- A Review

Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic ushered in a new era that led to the adjustments of diverse ecosystems. The pandemic restructured the global socio-economic events which prompted several adaptation measures as a response mechanism to cushion the negative impact of the disease pandemic. Critical health safety actions were impera-tive to curtail the spread of the disease such as wearing personal protective equipment (PPEs), masks, goggles, and using sanitizers for disinfection purposes. The daily de-mands for the products by individuals and medical personnel heightened their pro-duction and consumption, leading to a corresponding increase of COVID-19 wastes in the environment following indiscriminate waste disposal and poor waste management. The persistent occurrence of COVID-19 wastes aggravated microplastics (MPs) con-tamination in the aquatic ecosystem following the breakdown of PPEs-based plastics via oxidation, fragmentation, and photo-degradation actions. These MPs are transport-ed in the aquatic environment via surface runoff and wind action, apart from discrete sources. MPs' presence in the aquatic systems is not without repercussions. Ingestion of MPs by aquatic organisms can cause several diseases (e.g., poor growth, oxidative distress, neurotoxicity, developmental toxicity, reproductive toxicity, immunotoxicity, and organ toxicity). Humans are at high risk of MPs uptake. Apart from aerial and soil contamination sources, consumption of aquatic food products is a critical pathway of MPs into the human body. MP toxicities in humans include liver disorder, respiratory failure, infertility, hormonal imbalance, diarrhea, developmental disorder, and mortal-ity. Measures to alleviate the effect of COVID-19 waste litters include effective waste management plans and the adoption of technologies to extract cum degrade MPs from the aquatic and terrestrial environment.

A Corona Virus Diseases 2019 (COVID-19) Knowledge Possessed by Primary Healthcare Workers in Ebonyi State, South-East Nigeria

The general objective of this study was to investigate COVID-19 knowledge possessed by primary healthcare workers (PHWs) in Ebonyi State, South-East Nigeria. Specifically, the study determined general knowledge of COVID-19, knowledge of: signs and symptoms, mode of transmission, and COVID-19 protocols possessed by PHW. The design was survey. The population was 1630 PHWs in Ebonyi state. Multi-stage sampling was used to select a sample of 400 respondents. Data were analyzed using frequencies and percentages. Major findings of the study show that PHWs possessed knowledge of indicators of the general knowledge of COVID-19 in varying frequencies (F) and percentages (%). Some of these indicators included: COVID-19 is a pandemic disease, 360(91.6%), a global emergency 376(95.7%), has high infectivity 210(53.4%), most coronavirus-led illnesses are generally mild, among others. Other findings are nine signs and symptoms of COVID-19 including, fever 374(95.2%), cough 375(95.4%), shortness of breath 362(92.1%), and others. Mode of transmission of COVID-19 include through droplets 373(94.9%), close contact 369(93.9%), and contaminated surfaces 352(89.6%). COVID-19 protocols knowledge possessed by PHWs were sneezing on the inner side of the elbow 302(76.8%), the use of face mask 291(74%), hand washing 384(97.7%), use of PPE 288(73.3%), single-use or disposable equipment 329(83.7%), among others. Based on the findings, three recommendations were made. © 2022, Heran. All rights reserved.