Health Ministry report reveals 50% people still do not wear masks, despite surge in cases

As India fights the Coronavirus pandemic, the Union Health Ministry briefed on Friday, May 21, that according to a report nearly half of the country's population does not wear masks. Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Health, said at a press conference, "As per a study, in India, 50% of the people still do not wear masks. Among those who wear masks, 64% of them do not cover their nose properly."

50% of people do not wear masks

He added that 9 states currently have 50,000 to 1 lakh active COVID-19 cases, while 19 states have less than 50,000 active cases. Agarwal noted, "Some states like Karnataka and West Bengal are showing positivity of over 25% which remains a cause of concern. If one person does not follow physical distancing, then that person can infect 406 persons in a single month. I would like to request that physical distancing is the most important social vaccine in terms of Covid-19 management, in terms of critical intervention."

Agarwal stated, "In the study, it was found that out of 2,000 people in 25 cities 50% people are not wearing masks properly, 64% of those who wear masks don't cover their nose properly, 20% have it on their chins, 2% have masks on their neck and only 14% of them wear it correctly by covering nose, mouth, chin and with a clip on the nose." 

COVID-19 cases in India

Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry announced on Friday that India had recorded 2,59,591 new COVID-19 cases and 4,209 deaths in the previous 24 hours. According to the Ministry, 3,57,295 people have recovered from COVID-19 disease in the last 24 hours across the world, which is more than the number of new cases registered. The Ministry said, "The cumulative caseload in India now stands at 2,60,31,991. There are 30,27,925 active COVID cases in the country."  In India, a total of 2,91,331 people have died as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, with a total of 2,27,12,735 recoveries.

(with inputs from ANI)

Picture Credit: PTI