Drive targeted initiatives to improve testing access, timeliness, and equity. Provide informational resources to Californians and other partners and stakeholders e. Additional Resources The Temporary Allowance letter has been posted. Latest News. Latest Data. Questions about Testing or the Task Force? Antigen Office Hours. We cover: Individual questions Program operation Site requirements Join us by clicking the link below. Department of Public Health.
View all upcoming and completed healthcare facilities. Learn more about the various infectious diseases that Singapore has overcome. Through E-Consultation, MOH aims to gather feedback and suggestion from members of the public to further improve policies, programmes and services.
Search for various available grants to drive the translation of basic research to advance human healthcare, and to increase the translational and clinical research capabilities of public hospitals, research institutions and medical researchers. Search for publications, education brochures, statistics on admission rates, waiting times, bed occupancy rates, diseases and more. So, it is high time to make a proper strategy for long-term benefit, as well as sustainable environmental management.
Similarly, to protect this globe, the home of human beings, united effort of the countries should be imperative Somani et al. Therefore, some possible strategies are proposed for global environmental sustainability Figure 6.
Sustainable industrialization: Industrialization is crucial for economic growth; however, it's time to think about sustainability. For sustainable industrialization, it is essential to shift to less energy-intensive industries, use of cleaner fuels and technologies, and strong energy efficient policies Pan, Moreover, industries should be built in some specific zones, keeping in mind that waste from one industry can be used as raw materials of the other Hysa et al.
After a certain period, industrial zones should have been shut down in a circular way to reduce emission without hampering the national economy.
Again, industries especially readymade garments RMG and others where a huge number of people work, proper distance and hygienic environment should maintain to reduce the spread of any infectious communicable disease. Use of green and public transport: To reduce emissions, it is necessary to encourage people to use public transport, rather private vehicles. Besides, people should encourage to use bicycle in a short distance, and public bike sharing PBS system like China should be available for mass usage, which is not only environment friendly but also beneficial for health.
Use of renewable energy: Use of renewable energy can lower the demand of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas, which can play an important role in reducing the GHGs emissions Ellabban et al. Due to the COVID pandemic, global energy demand is reduced, which results in the reduction of emission and increased ambient air quality in many areas Somani et al.
But, to maintain the daily needs and global economic growth, it is not possible to cut-off energy demand like a pandemic situation. Hence, use of renewable energy sources like solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal heat and biomass can meet the energy demand and reduces the GHGs emission Ellabban et al. Wastewater treatment and reuse: To control the challenges of water pollution, both industrial and municipal wastewater should be properly treated before discharge.
Besides, reuse of treated wastewater in non-production processes like toilet flushing and road cleaning can reduce the burden of excess water withdrawal. Waste recycling and reuse: To reduce the burden of wastes and environmental pollution, both industrial and municipal wastes should be recycled and reused.
Hence, circular economy or circularity systems should implement in the production process to minimize the use of raw material and waste generation Hysa et al.
Moreover, hazardous and infectious medical waste should be properly managed by following the guidelines WHO, c. It is now clear that majority of the people especially in developing countries have a lack of knowledge regarding waste segregation and disposal issues Rahman et al. So, government should implement extensive awareness campaign through different mass media, regarding the proper waste segregation, handling and disposal methods. Ecological restoration and ecotourism: For ecological restoration, tourist spots should periodically shutdown after a certain period.
Moreover, ecotourism practice should be strengthened to promote sustainable livelihoods, cultural preservation, and biodiversity conservation Islam and Bhuiyan, Behavioral change in daily life: To reduce the carbon footprint and global carbon emission, it is necessary to change the behavior in our daily life and optimum consumption or resources like; avoid processed and take locally grown food, make compost from food waste, switch off or unplug electronic devices when not used, and use a bicycle instead of a car for short er distances.
International cooperation: To meet the sustainable environmental goals and protection of global environmental resources, such as the global climate and biological diversity, combined international effort is essential ICIMOD, Hence, responsible international authority like United Nations Environment Programme UN Environment should take effective role to prepare time-oriented policies, arrange international conventions, and coordination of global leaders for proper implementation.
Directly or indirectly, the pandemic is affecting human life and the global economy, which is ultimately affecting the environment and climate. It reminds us how we have neglected the environmental components and enforced human induced climate change. Moreover, the global response of COVID also teaches us to work together to combat against the threat to mankind. Though the impacts of COVID on the environment are short-term, united and proposed time-oriented effort can strengthen environmental sustainability and save the earth from the effects of global climate change.
All authors listed have significantly contributed to the development and the writing of this article. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. The authors would like to acknowledge all the frontline doctors and healthcare workers fighting this pandemic.
Authors are also thankful to the editor and anonymous reviewers who helped with the current shape of the paper by their constructive and insightful comments and suggestions.
National Center for Biotechnology Information , U. Journal List Heliyon v. Published online Sep Tanjena Rume a and S. Didar-Ul Islam. Author information Article notes Copyright and License information Disclaimer. Didar-Ul Islam: moc. This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. Abstract The global outbreak of coronavirus disease COVID is affecting every part of human lives, including the physical world.
Open in a separate window. Figure 1. Figure 2. Figure 3. Methodology This study was performed by reviewing the available published literatures, case studies, and different government and non-government organizations information from reports and official websites.
Figure 4. Positive environmental effects 3. Reduction of air pollution and GHGs emission As industries, transportation and companies have closed down, it has brought a sudden drop of greenhouse gases GHGs emissions. Figure 5. Reduction of water pollution Water pollution is a common phenomenon of a developing country like India, and Bangladesh, where domestic and industrial wastes are dumped into rivers without treatment Islam and Azam, ; Islam and Huda, ; Bodrud-Doza et al.
Reduction of noise pollution Noise pollution is the elevated levels of sound, generated from different human activities e. Ecological restoration and assimilation of tourist spots Over the past few years, tourism sector has witnessed a remarkable growth because of technological advancements and transport networks; which contribute significantly to global gross domestic product GDP Lenzen et al.
Negative environmental effects 3. Increase of biomedical waste generation Since the outbreak of COVID, medical waste generation is increased globally, which is a major threat to public health and environment. Safety equipment use and haphazard disposal To protect from the viral infection, presently peoples are using face mask, hand gloves and other safety equipment, which increase the amount of healthcare waste.
Municipal solid waste generation, and reduction of recycling Increase of municipal waste both organic and inorganic generation has direct and indirect effects on environment like air, water and soil pollution Islam et al. Other effects on the environment Recently, huge amount of disinfectants is applied into roads, commercial, and residential areas to exterminate SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Potential strategies of environmental sustainability It is assumed that, all of these environmental consequences are short-term. Figure 6. Declarations Author contribution statement All authors listed have significantly contributed to the development and the writing of this article.
Funding statement This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. Competing interest statement The authors declare no conflict of interest. Additional information No additional information is available for this paper.
Acknowledgements The authors would like to acknowledge all the frontline doctors and healthcare workers fighting this pandemic. References Adams M. Total Environ. How Covid is affecting electricity consumption. New Delhi, India. Changes in U. Groundwater quality and human health risk assessment for safe and sustainable water supply of Dhaka City dwellers in Bangladesh.
Groundwater Sustain. The Verge, Mar. COVID outbreak: migration, effects on society, global environment and prevention. Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 99 cases of novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan, China: a descriptive study. Water Security beyond Covid K4D Helpdesk Report Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. Cripps K. Thailand's most popular island goes into lockdown as Covid cases surge. Air pollution goes down as Europe takes hard measures to combat Coronavirus.
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