The Ministry of Health has issued guidelines on ensuring clean water, environmental sanitation, and medical waste management during the flood season.
Accordingly, the health sector of provinces and cities needs to develop plans for environmental sanitation, clean water and medical waste management before the storm and flood season:
Organize propaganda and instruct medical staff and people to take measures to prepare and be ready to respond to heavy rain, storms, floods, prepare clean water containers, means and tools for environmental treatment, water treatment; collect and manage medical waste, ensure personal hygiene... according to the instructions of the Ministry of Health.
Arrange human resources, ensure adequate storage and supply of medicines, chemicals, water treatment equipment, and environmental treatment. Develop plans to prepare for water treatment and environmental sanitation; plans to ensure the safety of medical waste treatment facilities and equipment, and implement medical waste management according to current regulations.
When storms and floods occur
The Ministry of Health instructs that it is necessary to organize working groups of the health sector to regularly inspect and monitor the flood situation, environmental sanitation and waste management in medical facilities in the area, and strengthen monitoring of the quality of drinking water and people's daily activities.
Proactively provide chemicals for water and environmental treatment; carry out cleaning and disinfection of tanks and containers for drinking and domestic water with disinfectants that have been granted a valid registration certificate by the Ministry of Health in flooded areas.
Implement measures to collect and treat medical solid waste to ensure safety, prevent the risk of spreading pathogens that affect health; strengthen measures to disinfect and treat medical wastewater to ensure requirements before discharging into the environment.
The organization guides medical units and people to immediately implement environmental sanitation activities according to the instructions of the Ministry of Health in flooded areas.
After the storm, floods occurred.
The local health sector needs to guide grassroots health units and people to implement environmental treatment measures; collect and treat medical waste, handle dead animals; handle flooded wells, dug wells, and water tanks according to the instructions of the Ministry of Health; organize the spraying of chemicals to kill insects and disease vectors in flooded areas after the water recedes.
Strengthen inspection and supervision of hygiene and quality of water supplied for drinking and daily life from water plants and centralized water supply stations to ensure residual chlorine concentration according to regulations; strengthen inspection of hygiene and quality of household water; inspect and supervise the collection and treatment of medical waste in medical facilities to ensure compliance with current regulations.
