New Delhi: Compliance with the wearing of masks remains at a low level despite concerns over the detection of a new form of coronavirus in India, Omicron, with only two percent of people surveyed in their locality, People in the city or district are following this rule.
According to the latest survey conducted by the digital community-based platform ‘LocalCircle’, one in three Indians say that most people in their area do not wear masks when they step out of their homes.
The survey, conducted in April, received responses from more than 25,000 people living in 364 districts of India. According to the survey, 29 percent of the people said that the rate of following the rule of wearing masks is very high.
The rate of wearing masks fell to 12 percent in September and then fell sharply to just two percent in November. Sachin Taparia, Founder, Local Circle, said, “It is important that the Central Government, State Governments and District Administrations in view of the Omicron nature, create awareness about mask compliance and implement necessary penalties for maintaining this compliance. Take all steps.”
The need of the hour is to educate the public on the effectiveness of masks as two in three Indians are still wearing cloth masks that provide limited protection from COVID-19.
If two individuals in an indoor space are not wearing a mask, in just 10 minutes, the infected person can transmit the virus to the other person, while if both are wearing a fitted N-95 mask, it requires over 600 hours of exposure for transmission, he said.
The Omicron variant, which has scientists and epidemiologists from around the world raising red flags, was categorized as a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organisation earlier this week after it was identified in three countries.
Within a week, Omicron has been detected in over 40 countries around the world, with India reporting its first two cases in Karnataka.
