Barring the elderly, children and those displaying symptoms of cough, cold or influenza, mask rules have been relaxed for the general population with effect from 1st October by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority.
Given the Covid-19 positivity rate falling under 1%, such a decision was on expected lines. The number of beds reserved for Covid-19 patients has come down from 15000 in January to roughly 9000. Likewise, Covid Care Centres have also reported a steep reduction in the beds from 4-5000 at the beginning of the year to 75.
Delhi government’s current decision comes in the wake of its August 11 announcement of a Rs.500 fine for those not wearing masks in public places. A sudden spike in Covid-19 cases warranted such a decision as an immediate step. The DDMA had decided after considering all pertinent information about the subject of criminal penalties for disregarding the mask protocol in public places. But those travelling together in private four-wheelers were not subject to the fine.
Let’s not forget that before the August 11 decision, the Delhi government had imposed the fine on April 22nd, three weeks after its earlier decision (April 2nd) to lift the mask mandate in public since it considered the prevalence of active cases to be under control.
Yet, the current decision hasn’t gone so well with experts and healthcare personnel. While according to a few of them, scrapping Rs.500 fine will not have much of an impact, others feel that fine relaxation could have been extended by another month or so considering the onset of festival seasons and people would start gathering in huge numbers.
Even if there are fewer instances than there were during the second wave of the pandemic, there are also fewer tests being done as more people are adopting a relaxed approach with a good number viewing it as a return to pre-Covid times.
A poignant question remains. Do face masks help in the fight against Covid-19? The unanimous answer is ‘Yes’. Along with other precautions such as safe distancing, washing hands and vaccination, masks reduce the risks of catching a fast-spreading disease like Covid-19. According to the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), wearing a face is recommended, especially in an area that has reported a high number of cases. If a person has a weakened immune system or is prone to serious illness, then a mask provides the best possible protection.