GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. — With the CDC and Governor Whitmer now recommending we wear masks whenever we leave the house, the Kent County Health Department has tips on what we can do to properly dispose of PPE materials so we don’t continue to see photos of them littered in our parking lots.
The Environmental Health Division Director, Sara Simmons says the litter of PPE puts our healthcare workers at an even higher risk because people have to pick that up eventually and it can lead to more spread of Covid-19.
The health department recommends before going into a store, that you leave all purses/bags in the car if possible and put your ID and credit cards in your pockets so you can easily sanitize them later.
Officials also want to remind everyone when you have your gloves on to not touch your face or phone and consider the gloves contaminated. After you’re out of the store, but before you open your car and put away groceries you want to make sure you’re taking the gloves off properly so here’s a photo demonstration on how.
If you don’t have disposable gloves, you can use whatever gloves you have around the house just make sure you put them in the laundry after each use.
“If you do choose to go out and wear gloves, bring a bag with you, that you might have at home that you can dispose of in the trash and put your gloves in that bag and then dispose of them at home in a trash bin,” says Sara Simmons, Environmental Health Division Director for Kent Co. Health Dept.
Also, don’t forget to do regular wipe downs of common touch areas for your car, like door handles, the steering wheel and the gearshift, along with sanitizing the handle on the grocery carts.
