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Coquitlam mayor slams surgical glove litterbugs in Facebook post

Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart is calling out people who leave surgical gloves on the ground in public places during the COVID-19 crisis
Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart posted to Facebook photos of discarded surgical gloves around the ci
Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart posted to Facebook photos of discarded surgical gloves around the city at a time when the world is working to stem the transmission of COVID-19.

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Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart is calling out a new kind of litterbug after posting photographs on Facebook of surgical gloves randomly strewn on a road and at an underground parking lot in the midst of the global pandemic.

“I get it,” Steward wrote in a Facebook post, “you think that your gloves might have been in contact with the virus. As a result, you discard them rather than put them in a garbage bag in your car.

“This exhibits some especially selfish and antisocial attitudes. If you think something is contaminated, then discard it properly.”

 

Stewart urged Coquitlam residents to, if they think something is contaminated, discard it properly. Several municipalities across Metro Vancouver have asked resident to dispose of used medical protective equipment and soiled tissues in sealed plastic bags to prevent possible transmission.

“This needs to stop,” added Stewart. “We can't look out only for ourselves, we need to all be in this together.

“Perhaps a $10,000 fine would be in order for discarding used masks/gloves?”

Others commenting on his post suggested more drastic measures, including one commenter who suggested that an additional “criminal charge of biological terrorism would be adequate. Maximum fine of $1,000,000.”

Read more of our COVID-19 coverage here.