PUTRAJAYA, Nov 24 — The number of clinical wastes increased by 43.9 per cent in 2021 to 57,400 tonnes as compared to 39,900 tonnes in 2020, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said three states recorded the largest amount of clinical wastes namely, Selangor (13,000 tonnes), Sarawak (8,300 tonnes) and Kuala Lumpur FT (5,900 tonnes).
“The rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in 2021 also saw increased use of personal protective equipment (PPE), as well as COVID-19 test equipment and the opening of new health facilities, quarantine and vaccination centres, gave a direct impact on the management of clinical wastes,” he said in a statement today following the release of the Compendium of Environment Statistics, Malaysia 2022.
In addition, Mohd Uzir said the rate of road accident cases in Malaysia recorded a decrease of 11.5 per cent, a drop of 47,951 cases as compared to 2020 due to the MCO.
The number of fatalities due to road accidents also decreased by 95 to 4,539 deaths in 2021 as compared to 4,634 in the previous year, he added.
— Bernama
