Wear mask at home, Centre's advise to citizens as COVID-19 crisis looms

Dr VK Paul further said that people should also avoid stepping out of their homes unnecessarily and not invite guests at home.

Credit: ANI

New Delhi: It is no longer enough to wear masks outdoors and the time has come to wear it at home as well, NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr VK Paul said on Monday (April 26).

The advice comes at a time the country is experiencing the worst of the pandemic since the outbreak. The second wave of the COVID-19 surge has resulted in the highest daily number of fresh cases in the country. At the same time, a severe crisis of oxygen shortage has made things a lot worse.

“I'll say that the time has come that we start wearing masks even otherwise inside our homes. We used to talk about wearing it outside homes, but the way the infection has spread, it will be better if we wear masks inside our homes if we are sitting with someone,” Dr Paul said addressing a press conference in New Delhi.

“If there is a COVID-19 positive person, that person must wear the mask and others inside the house also must wear a mask and the positive person should be kept in a different room,” he added.

He said that if the house lacks facilities for isolation, they may go for isolation centres.

Dr Paul further said that people should also avoid stepping out of their homes unnecessarily and not invite guests at home.

He also urged people to not get admitted to hospitals unless they really need it. Hospital beds are used for needy people, he said.

He also stressed the importance of inoculating the population as fast as possible.

"We cannot let the pace of COVID-19 vaccination decline or slacken in the face of the emerging situation. In fact, it should be escalated and with that intent, the government of India brought a revised (vaccination) policy. We believe and are confident that will bring in more acceleration," he said.

The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare shared an infographic showing how wearing masks and maintaining social distance can reduce the risk of COVID transmission.

It showed that the chance of transmission is lowest when both infected and non-infected persons are wearing masks and are at least 6 feet away from each other.

Similarly, the risk is highest, over 90 per cent, when both are not wearing masks and not maintaining social distance.

Check out the different scenarios in this infographic:

With 3,52,991 people testing positive for coronavirus infection in a day, the highest so far, India's total tally of COVID-19 cases has climbed to 1,73,13,163 while active cases have crossed the 28-lakh mark.