Delhiites letting their guard down in fight against coronavirus is worrying, say experts

NEW DELHI:  Careless attitude of people in wearing masks and not following social distancing norms is leading to a surge in coronavirus cases in the national capital, experts said on Sunday.

Dr Upali Nanda of Medeor Hospital in the Qutab Institutional Area here said, “Reopening of all places, including restaurants and weekly markets, has led to an increase in traffic and intermingling of population.” She said even if people are putting on masks, they are wearing it improperly.

“It keeps hanging below their nose or below their chin. They keep touching the front of their masks. The purpose of wearing masks has been defeated,” she said.

People are not carrying a bottle of sanitiser.

Poor mask discipline, not following social distancing norms and people letting their guard down owing to fatigue that has grown during the pandemic are leading to a surge in cases.

Dr B L Sherwal, the Medical Director of Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital, said, “Testing has been increased and the cases have gone up, but they should come down. In my view, we are going to have a slowdown maybe in a week or so.” However, he said people letting their guard down is a worrying part and people need to be told that “we are still in the coronavirus phase”.

According to a spokesperson of Dr. Lal PathLabs Ltd, as more activities are allowed and people start moving out, “we may have to be ready for some increase in cases”. The number of RATs conducted on a daily basis is almost five times the number of RT-PCR tests. Delhi has a capacity of conducting 14,000 RT-PCR tests, but the tests are not being conducted to full capacity, the spokesperson said.

Dr Alpana Razdaan, Lab Head, Genestrings Lab, said, “RT-PCR tests are not happening in full capacity. Despite there being a limit of 14,000 tests daily, the number of RT-PCR tests being conducted is less. The government has to push for more tests.