Even as the government has eased all pandemic-related restrictions, it is essential for us to mask up to curtail the spread of the infection, especially among those at high risk of developing severe disease. (File) Reviewing the Covid-19 situation in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stressed on masking up, following Covid-19 protocol, and getting vaccinated. This comes when the country is reporting an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases, less than a month after all mandates were removed.
There were 3,303 fresh cases of the infection reported by the Union Health Ministry on Thursday, with a positivity rate – proportion of samples that return positive among total tested – standing at 0.66%. We look at why masking is important in such a scenario.
Why should we mask up?
Even as the government has eased all pandemic-related restrictions, it is essential for us to mask up to curtail the spread of the infection, especially among those at high risk of developing severe disease. This holds true even though the vaccination coverage in our country is very high – over 96% of the population has received at least one dose of the vaccine and 84% of the people above the age of 15 years have received both their doses.
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“What vaccination ensures is that people do not get severe disease and die of Covid-19. It is not very good at preventing the infection, per se. So, masks have a role in preventing the spread. The old, co-morbid, and those with a weak immune system should definitely mask up,” said epidemiologist Chandrakant Lahariya.
With the current disease being mild, he said, “Now is the time to move away from mask mandates. No doubt mask is important, but people should be able to do their own risk assessment. How long can you continue maintaining these mandates?”
Dr Suneela Garg, professor of community medicine at Maulana Azad Medical College said, “Masking is good, it is important. We should definitely promote it.”
When should we mask up?
Masking up is the most important when people are within an enclosed shared space, such as a movie theatre. “Masking up is the most important when indoors; it is where the virus spreads. Outdoors, the open air can take care of the virus. Nobody seems to be talking about it,” said Lahariya. Experts also suggest masking up in areas like crowded market places where there are many people in close quarters.
The World Health Organisation states that masks should be worn in indoor areas where ventilation isn’t adequate or cannot be assessed, indoor places where physical distance of 1 metre cannot be maintained, and outdoor spaces where a distance of 1 metre cannot be maintained.
The guidelines also mention that masks should not be worn during vigorous physical activities, instead people must try to maintain physical distance.
Dr Garg added, “If a child or someone in the family gets Covid-19, the elderly and others at high risk should wear masks within their homes.”
What masks should be used?
Although an N-95 is ideal to curtail virus transmission, it is very difficult to wear for long period of time. “A surgical mask is the best option. Cloth masks are not very effective against fast-transmitting variants like Omicron. And, the N-95 masks are very hard to wear for long durations. In this heat, we cannot advise even double masking because it will be uncomfortable. The health communication should promote something that is achievable, otherwise no one will follow it,” said Lahariya.
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