Lebanese photographer focuses lens on coronavirus litter

A Lebanese artist hopes to raise awareness and help prevent improper disposal of personal protective gear in Beirut as the country battles the coronavirus outbreak.

VIDEO SHOWS: STILL IMAGES OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE) ON STREETS, INTERVIEW WITH PHOTOGRAPHER, OMAR FRANGIEH TALKING ABOUT HIS WORK RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: BEIRUT, LEBANON (RECENT - APRIL-MAY, 2020) (OMAR FRANGIEH - MUST ON SCREEN COURTESY OMAR FRANGIEH) (PART MUTE) 1.

STILL IMAGE OF MASK FLOATING IN WATER (MUTE) 2.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) PHOTOGRAPHER, OMAR FRANGIEH, SAYING: "Actually, I wasn't planning for this campaign." 3.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) PHOTOGRAPHER, OMAR FRANGIEH, SAYING (AUDIO OVERLAID WITH STILL IMAGES OF PPE ON STREETS): "During the confinement, as I was taking my daily walks, I couldn't (help) but notice gloves and masks everywhere around me in the street.

Day after day I came across these scatted disposables (protective gear) in Beirut, which caught my attention.

Through my lens, gloves and masks communicated to me the joys and struggle of the Lebanese people and that's how the 'Invaders in Beirut' campaign started." 4.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) PHOTOGRAPHER, OMAR FRANGIEH, SAYING: "Definitely my main message is to raise awareness related to inappropriate ways of disposing of gloves and masks." 5.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) PHOTOGRAPHER, OMAR FRANGIEH, SAYING (AUDIO OVERLAID WITH STILL IMAGES OF PPE ON STREETS): "Each glove and mask unwillingly invading our neighbourhoods became a viable threat, endangering the Lebanese life.

With each photo photo my inside felt like screaming for help and I became desperate to share this risk with the community.

A pair of green gloves randomly laying on the closed door allowed me to portrait the economic and geographic shut down that were happening across the country." 6.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) PHOTOGRAPHER, OMAR FRANGIEH, SAYING: "This is just a tiny example of this initiative.

I truly invite you to further explore it from your own perspective." 7.

VARIOUS OF STILL IMAGES OF GLOVES AND MASKS DISPOSED OF OUTSIDE (MUTE) STORY: A Lebanese photographer has created a project focusing on improper disposal of personal protective equipment (PPE) littering the streets of Beirut.

Omar Frangieh's photography documentation of errant masks and gloves lying on the streets of the capital has turned into a safety and environmental campaign for him.

Frangieh said he noticed PPE litter on the streets of Beirut during his daily nature walks and began photographing them on his mobile phone.

The photographer told Reuters that gloves and masks intended to help protect people from COVID-19, were being disposed of improperly and risked becoming a source of pollution and a potential health hazard that would go beyond the effects of the respiratory illness itself.

The project, entitled "Invaders of Beirut", aims to shine a spotlight on improper disposal of PPE and encourage public mindfulness.

The highly contagious novel coronavirus that has exploded into a global pandemic can remain viable and infectious in droplets in the air for hours and on surfaces up to days, according to a study by scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

(Production: Pola Grzanka)