A worker pushes a trolley full of infectious medical waste in the Zhongfa Xincheng branch of Wuhan Tongji Hospital on February 18. As medical waste has doubled in the city, the Zhongfa Xincheng branch of Wuhan Tongji Hospital has designated an open-air area as a temporary place for piling infectious medical waste generated by the hospital. Photo: Cui Meng/GT

 
China has disposed of 123,000 tonnes of medical waste since late January amid the fight against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), said the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) Friday.

As of March 3, China's medical waste disposal capacity had reached 5,948.5 tonnes per day, increasing by 1,045.7 tonnes each day from before the outbreak.

The disposal capacity of Hubei Province, the epicenter of the outbreak, rose to 663.7 tonnes per day, showed the MEE data.

In addition, environmental authorities monitored the country's 11,474 drinking water sources and did not find any impact from the epidemic on the quality of the sources, the ministry said.