SANYA, February 23. /TASS/. The Sanya authorities declared that the city ensures safe medical waste disposal amid coronavirus oubreak in the country, according to the local environment protection department. 

"We have taken a number of measures to ensure safe disposal of medical waste and wastewater treatment in the city to prevent environmental risks, as well as to prevent new outbreaks of infection through wastewater and soil pollution over coronavirus fears", the statement reads. The document states that since January 22, the Sanya authorities disposed of about 112.8 tonnes of medical waste by high-temperature incineration in the city. The plants were loaded at an amount of 83.5%.

The statement emphasizes that special vehicles were allocated for waste transportation, workers with additional training were appointed to do the job. The authorities also reported that medical dace masks, individual protective suits, goggles, and disinfectants are provided to all workers dealing with the waste disposal.

On December 31, Chinese authorities informed the World Health Organization (WHO) about an outbreak of an unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan - a large trade and industrial center in central China populated by 12 million people. The source of the outbreak is the COVID-19 coronavirus. Cases of COVID-19 have been detected in at least 27 countries, including Russia. The WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak in China a global health emergency.

The number of infected in the Hainan province reached 168, 54 of which were registered in Sanya. In total, 106 patients recovered from the illness and were discharged from hospitals.