Only 30% Indians rate mask compliance as effective in their area: Survey
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A woman helps her child wear a mask at a Delhi shelter, on April 3, 2020
According to the Local Circles survey, only 30 per cent of the Indian believe it is necessary to wear masks and only 12 per cent of the people abide by the rule of maintaining social distance in public.
The survey released on Wednesday was titled 'India becoming complacent against COVID-19' and was based on the 8,321 responses received from across the 238 districts in India.
Sixty-eight per cent of respondents in the survey were men while 32 per cent were women. While 51 per cent of all respondents were from Tier 1 locations, 28 per cent were from Tier 2 and 21 per cent was respectively from Tier 3, 4 and rural districts.
Wearing a mask stops the virus from entering both the mouth and the nose and is hence one of the most important COVID-19 precaution measures to reduce the chances of getting infected. While 30 per cent said mask compliance in their city or district was 'good' or 'effective', 51 per cent said there was limited compliance and 18 per cent said there was no compliance at all.
The survey results from India came as a shock when people across the world are now upgrading their masks to N95 with some even wearing a double basic mask for enhanced protection. Discomfort, little or poor enforcement of the rule by most local authorities and the declining caseloads in their area were some of the reasons cited by the people for not wearing masks.
Since the government has relaxed all lockdown restrictions, people are now going to workplaces, visiting malls and other public places where they tend to forget the rule of social distancing, sit, eat and dine together as before the emergence of the pandemic.
Considering the aggregate percentage of citizens in the survey, about 56 per cent feel there is no social distancing compliance, 12 per cent said there is good compliance and 31 per cent said there is only limited compliance.
A sudden spike in Covid-19 cases has been reported last week in the states like Maharashtra, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Punjab stirring fears of a second lockdown. The survey results now reveal how and why an increase in cases of infections is being reported in the country.