With Omicron (the dreaded new novel coronavirus variant) looming menacingly before us, never has a protective mask been as indispensable as it is today. Indeed, many have now started wearing two masks rather than one to ensure safety.
Yet, unbelievably, there are still many who don’t care to follow the most basic precautions to minimise the spread of the virus. On the tea plantations of Munnar where I live, most local and migrant workers go about their jobs unmasked with alarming casualness. This apathy is seen in other plantation areas in Kerala too. Despite extensive awareness campaigns, the gravity of the situation doesn’t appear to have sunk in among the workforce, especially in rural areas.
Further, one still sees people masking only their mouths, leaving their noses uncovered. Isn’t it widely known that the main entry points for the virus are the mouth and the nose? Undoubtedly, such laxity only aids its further spread.
While talking to press reporters and others, politicians often remove their masks in order to be better heard, perhaps fearing that a muffled voice will be unintelligible. They don’t seem to realise the grave risk in doing so. All they need to do is raise their voices a little. And, having had their say, most forgetfully leave their masks dangling below their chins!
Smokers are often seen unmasking themselves in public to enjoy a puff. Then there are those who mistakenly believe that donning a mask obviates the need for distancing norms. They hobnob freely with all and sundry, shaking hands and fraternising, heedless of the obvious risk. It’s conveniently forgotten that the virus capitalises on the proximity of people.
On social media, I recently saw some black-and-white images of the Spanish influenza epidemic that swept Europe in 1918. Troops and civilians are seen diligently wearing large masks that all but hide their faces. In fact, women are shown fully enveloped in transparent plastic cloaks secured round their waists and even transparent conical face masks that protrude quite prominently. Kitted out thus, they must have found it quite cumbersome; yet they endured it willy-nilly for the sake of safety. In comparison, our masks and face-shields are far less unwieldy.
Having lost two relatives to COVID-19, the vital need for elementary life-saving precautions has been painfully driven home to me. It’s truly shocking that people can be so indifferent to their own and others’ safety. If the harrowing tales of patients gasping for breath don’t prompt one to tighten one’s own precautions, nothing ever will.
gnettomunnar@rediffmail.com
