COVID: Are you disposing of your face mask properly? MyGov explains how to do it

Government-run citizen engagement platform MyGov in a Twitter post on September 3, shared a post that showed the proper way of using, disposing and reusing masks. This post by MyGov comes at an ideal time when the country is preparing to fight against the third wave of the COVID pandemic. The post's caption reads, 'Your face-mask is your armour in the fight against COVID-19!'.

Follow this procedure for a proper disposal

Amidst Kerala topping COVID charts, institutions across the country reopening for students and the third wave knocking right at the door, MyGov, via its Twitter handle, shared a post that explained the proper disposal of a surgical mask. The government suggested: 

• Any individual needs to clean their hands with soap and water first.
• Without touching anywhere else, hold both of the ear loops and gently lift to remove the mask. 
• Avoid reaching the front of the mask
• For proper disposal, wrap your mask up in a bag to avoid further contamination and then throw the mask in the trash. 

India COVID charts

India has reported 42,618 fresh Coronavirus cases as of September 4 with 36,385 recoveries and 330 deaths in the last 24 hours. As per the Health Ministry, to date, India has reported a total of 3,29,45,907 COVID cases with 3,21,00,001 recoveries. Currently, India’s recovery rate stands at 97.45%. 

To date, India has administered 67.09 crore COVID vaccine doses under Nationwide Vaccination Drive. On September 3, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said in a statement, "India’s cumulative vaccination coverage has crossed 67 Crore landmark today. With the administration of 74,84,333 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage has surpassed the cumulative figure of 67.09 Cr (67,09,59,968) as per provisional reports till 7 am today. This has been achieved through 70,34,846 sessions".

Delta variant not responsible for severe infections among children

Despite soaring COVID cases among children and adolescents in the US, a recent study claimed that it did not find any evidence that could prove that the highly contagious Delta variant causes more severe diseases. According to a study, weekly COVID-19 associated hospitalisation rates among children and adolescents rose nearly five-fold during June-August this year, coinciding with increased circulation of the highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant. However, studies proved that the rate of hospitalised children and adolescents with severe disease were similar before and during the period of the Delta predominance. 

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