A number of experts say the rigorous 2-year mandate for masks has led to fatigue and can be removed from public spaces as many other countries have already done.
It is vital to continue to propagate the benefits of masking, but unless there is another Covid wave, it would be wise to lift the mandate, experts suggested, pointing to the futility of ill-fitting masks and the lack of community consensus on the topic.
Ramanan Laxminarayan, director of Washington’s Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy, told PTI that the issue is compliance fatigue.
Gautam Menon, professor, Departments of Physics and Biology, Ashoka University in Haryana, urged messaging around the usefulness of masking in closed spaces, but would not suggest that it needs to be enforced punitively.
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As India’s Covid graph dips, 1,109 new infections were reported on Friday – including one case of a new Covid strain in Mumbai.
A case of Omicron recombinant strain XE was reported Wednesday by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). However, SARS-CoV-2 is being sequenced again in a national lab in India by INSACOG, which monitors genomic variations in the virus.
Recombinant means XE’s genome contains genomes from both the BA.1 and the BA.2 subvariants of Omicron.
COVID-19 cases in India have declined to their lowest level in two years, and several states have done away with the requirement to wear protective masks, including Delhi, Maharashtra, Punjab, and Haryana.
According to epidemiologist Laxminarayan, if there is another variant and wave, the public may need to start wearing masks again. However, keeping these requirements in place for indefinite periods can cause the public not to take them seriously. The best course of action is therefore to remove them, then reintroduce them if necessary, Laxminarayan explained.
According to immunologist Satyajit Rath, it is a “mistake” to claim the state is no longer responsible for the pandemic but rather the general public.
Many people are wondering if it is possible to avoid trade-offs between returning to pre-pandemic lifestyles and an increase in Covid-related deaths as numbers fall and mandates lift.
As a result of easing masking mandates and other restrictions, a recent modelling study found that COVID-19-related deaths resulted in some “rebound” in most states.
The World Health Organization warned in March that a combination of factors, including misinformation that the pandemic is over, the lifting of mask mandates, and the end of physical distancing, has led to a global increase in COVID-19 cases.
Covid cases are still on the rise in many countries, including China.
In the country, cumulative doses of COVID-19 have exceeded 185.20 crores under the nationwide vaccination drive.
According to Menon, since the number of cases and test positivity are so low right now, masking won’t be a significant factor.
He added that the time is right to open up, but also to increase surveillance in case of an unusual rise in cases and to analyse genomic samples for new variants.
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