Experts: Littering COVID face masks put animals at risk
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Environmental experts say PPE is still being littered and animals are at risk of getting hurt from the straps on discarded face masks.Will Waldron / Albany Times Union
There was a time when Jennifer Mattei would walk the beach in Stratford and see it strewn with coffee cups, drinking straws and other items. But that’s changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Just walking the beach, I can tell what’s getting thrown away,” said Mattei, professor in the Sacred Heart University biology department. “Now (the other trash has) disappeared and I’m finding masks everywhere.”
Experts: Littering COVID face masks put animals at risk wiltonbulletin.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wiltonbulletin.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Sandra Denisuk
Originally published on April 2, 2021 4:02 pm
A western Massachusetts doctor has launched a campaign urging people to remove the straps on their COVID-19 masks before throwing them away. He says he s trying to protect wildlife.
Dr. Masood Mohammed spends his days and nights trying to save the lives of humans as an emergency medicine resident at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.
Through an effort he calls Mask Off, Straps Off, he s also trying to help save animals. He said he decided to act after a friend showed him a picture of a bird with the strap of a blue disposable mask entangled around its leg.
The Checkup for March 14: A doctor campaigns to protect wildlife from pandemic PPE berkshireeagle.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from berkshireeagle.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.