Plastics are essential in society as a widely available and inexpensive material. Mismanagement of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a monthly estimated use of 129 billion face masks and 65 billion gloves globally, is resulting in widespread environmental contamination. This poses a risk to public health as waste is a vector for SARS-CoV-2 virus, which survives up to 3 days on plastics, and there are also broad impacts to ecosystems and organisms. Concerns over the role of reusable plastics as vectors for SARS-CoV-2 virus contributed to the reversal of bans on single-use plastics, highly supported by the plastic industry. While not underestimating the importance of plastics in the prevention of COVID-19 transmission, it is imperative not to undermine recent progress made in the sustainable use of plastics. There is a need to assess alternatives that allow reductions of PPE and reinforce awareness on the proper public use and disposal. Finally, assessment of contamination and impacts of plastics driven by the pandemic will be required once the outbreak ends.

中文翻译：

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关于塑料使用和管理的COVID-19大流行影响。

塑料在社会上是必不可少的，因为它是一种可广泛获得且便宜的材料。在COVID-19大流行期间，个人防护设备（PPE）的管理不善，估计每月在全球范围内使用1,290亿个口罩和650亿个手套，这导致了广泛的环境污染。这对公共健康构成了威胁，因为废物是SARS-CoV-2病毒的媒介，该病毒在塑料上可存活长达3天，并且还对生态系统和生物产生广泛影响。对可重复使用的塑料作为SARS-CoV-2病毒载体的作用的担忧导致了塑料行业大力支持的一次性塑料禁令的逆转。在不低估塑料在预防COVID-19传播中的重要性的同时，必须不破坏最近在塑料可持续利用方面取得的进展。有必要评估替代品，以减少个人防护装备，并增强公众对正确使用和处置的认识。最后，一旦爆发结束，就需要评估由大流行引起的塑料的污染和影响。