Face masks are primary line of defense to reduce the transmission risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). World Health Organization (WHO) has already updated the guidelines and advised the use of face masks in public areas essentially. This has dramatically increased the production and use of face masks in many parts of the world. Arabian Peninsula is comprised of six countries where the public perception of following WHO guidelines is high. In this study, we highlight the concerns relating to extensive use of face masks in this region, particularly in the context of (micro-)plastic pollution. We computed the number of face masks to be used in each of the countries of Arabian Peninsula for varying levels of acceptance rate and average number of daily usages. Accordingly, the amount of (micro-)plastic that could come into the terrestrial and marine environment is also reported. Saudi Arabia, being the most populated country in the region may contribute up to 32–235 thousand tons of (micro-)plastic which is nearly half of the amount in the whole Peninsula. On the other hand, an extremely high infection rate in Qatar (25.74%) may also lead to a significant increase of (micro-)plastic content due to high public acceptance rate and living standards. The high (micro-)plastic fraction is of significant concern because it ends up in the marine ecosystems. Further, it allows colonization of several pathogenic microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungal filaments, and spores) and might serve as carriers of disease transmission finally affecting the living organisms habituating these ecosystems. It is suggested that appropriate regulations on face masks waste should be devised to avoid any unwanted consequences in the near future.

口罩是降低严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2 (SARS-CoV-2) 传播风险的主要防线。世界卫生组织（WHO）已经更新了指南，基本上建议在公共场所使用口罩。这极大地增加了世界许多地区口罩的生产和使用。阿拉伯半岛由六个国家组成，公众对遵守世界卫生组织指南的看法很高。在这项研究中，我们强调了对该地区广泛使用口罩的担忧，特别是在（微）塑料污染的背景下。我们计算了阿拉伯半岛每个国家不同接受率和平均每日使用次数的口罩数量。因此，还报告了可能进入陆地和海洋环境的（微）塑料量。沙特阿拉伯作为该地区人口最多的国家，可能会产生高达 32-23.5 万吨（微）塑料，几乎是整个半岛总量的一半。另一方面，卡塔尔极高的感染率（25.74%）也可能因较高的公众接受度和生活水平而导致（微）塑料含量大幅增加。高（微）塑料部分引起了重大关注，因为它最终进入了海洋生态系统。此外，它允许多种病原微生物（细菌、病毒、真菌丝和孢子）定植，并可能作为疾病传播的载体，最终影响适应这些生态系统的生物体。建议针对口罩浪费制定适当的法规，以避免在不久的将来出现任何不良后果。