To mask up or not, has yet again become a question, along with when to do it and how to implement mask policies. We might be in the third, exhausting year of the pandemic but this is a debate that’s just resurfaced in wake of an uptick in cases in regions like the National Capital and authorities there reacting with punitive mask mandates. What’s more, public health experts point out that the importance of ventilation to curb transmission is again being overlooked in the din over whether wearing masks be made compulsory.
“It’s important to be sensible and understand the risk factors — if you’re indoors, it’s better to wear a mask. If it’s crowded, even more so. Without worrying about a particular variant, a good mask, when worn properly, will protect you,” says virologist Dr Shahid Jameel, research fellow at Green Templeton College, Oxford.
Epidemiologist and public health specialist Dr Chandrakant Lahariya emphasises that rather than bringing back mask mandates, this is the time to nudge people to adopt voluntary masking, “with special focus on encouraging vulnerable people to wear masks in crowded places and indoor spaces.” The use of the face mask, he adds, must depend on local level of transmission and other contextual factors.
Calibration with Situation Needed
Virologist Dr Gagandeep Kang also said there must be calibration according to the situation. “If there are lots of cases, everyone should mask (unless risk tolerance is high/you want to get infected). But masks, vaccines, prior infections – none provide 100% protection against infection. All reduce risk of infection/transmission so calibration with situation important,” she had tweeted recently.
While India has been spared the acrimonious and at times violent debate over masking that countries like the US have been roiled by, experts say enforcing masks with penalties at this stage of the pandemic might backfire. “At this point, with most of the country vaccinated, enforcing masking punitively will likely backfire. The Union government should emphasise the positive aspects of masking, especially in crowded situations, but try to ensure that there is no over-reaction on the part of states,” says Gautam Menon, professor of physics and biology at Ashoka University, specialising in infectious disease modelling.
Experts also rue the fact that not enough attention is being paid to the importance of ventilation despite all the evidence that indoor, closed spaces increase the risk of transmission. “Unfortunately, we are not seeing the level of concerted action around ventilation that we should be seeing. This is a pity, because this is a neglected intervention,” says Menon. This is at a time when factories, offices and schools have reopened and many are fully functional. “Everyone needs to choose a better ventilated and spacious place for meeting people. If that is not possible, use outdoor spaces as much as possible,” says Dr Lahariya.
All of these precautions are important and must be accompanied with the clear messaging from all stakeholders that the pandemic is not yet over, says Dr Jameel.
