Amid the concern over the rise in Omicron cases in India, the Union government on Friday observed that the use of masks was declining and the country has re-entered a “danger zone”.
“The usage of masks in the country has declined to pre-second wave levels and … in a way we have again entered a danger zone," NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr V K Paul told mediapersons.
Dr Paul was referring to a report by the institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.
Cautioning against the declining trend in wearing of face mask, Dr Paul urged all to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour and emphasised the importance of both vaccines and masks to prevent surge in cases.
Joint Secretary in the Union Health Ministry, Lav Agarwal, also pointed out WHO directions: "We need to diligently adhere to these public health measures in order to safeguard ourselves and those around us against COVID-19”.
According to official reports, seven more persons, including a three-year-old child, tested positive for the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in Maharashtra on Friday, pushing India's tally of the new strain to 32.
WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had earlir said that there is some evidence that shows that Omicron variant causes milder disease than Delta strain, but it’s still too early to be definitive.
Saying that the Omicron variant could have a major impact on the course of the pandemic, he called on countries to accelerate vaccine coverage in the most at-risk populations.
"This virus is changing, but our collective resolve must not. We can save lives from Delta, right now; we can prevent Omicron becoming a global crisis, right now and we can prevent other variants emerging, right now," Ghebreyesus said, while urging all to get vaccinated.
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