Amid a staggering surge in the second wave of coronavirus in the country, the Central government has said the time has now come to wear a mask even at home as well, and refrain from inviting guests.
Addressing a press briefing on the prevailing Covid-19 situation, NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr VK Paul said this is the time to be at home, wear a mask and not invite people. He added that people should also avoid stepping out of their homes unnecessarily.
“If there is Covid positive case in the family, it is very important that the person wears a mask even indoors because the virus can spread to others in the home. I would rather go on to say that the time has come that we start wearing a mask at home even otherwise,” Paul, who also heads the national Covid task force, said.
The Centre also brought to attention that hospital beds should only be occupied by those who are advised to do so by doctors and not out of panic and fear.
The panel also highlighted the importance of social distancing citing research that has shown an infected individual has the capability of spreading the virus to more than 400 other people without social distancing.
The panel also advised to use drugs like Remdesivir and Tocilizumab judiciously as they’ll be required for the most severe cases. Similarly, oxygen has also been asked to be used only when appropriate and to stop any leakages where possible.
Facing the twin challenge of a crumbling health infrastructure and also mutating viruses, including the double mutant variant, the government says the surge is exponential.
Its internal assessment also points to the direction that cases will peak by the middle of May. By April 30, Uttar Pradesh is expected to report 1.19 lakh cases and Maharashtra over 99,000 cases daily.
On Monday, for the fifth straight day India reported over 3 lakh cases.
