If someone has to describe the first quarter of 2020 in one word, then Coronavirus will be that word. This highly contagious disease which was first reported in Wuhan, China, on New Year’s Eve of 2020, and has now spread all across the globe. As of writing this blog, there are over 3,800,000 people infected with coronavirus all around the world. There is no medication or vaccination available in the market that can cure patients infected with the coronavirus. Medical professionals believe that it will take approximately 12 to 18 months to prepare a proper vaccine.
So, what to do? How can we reduce the spread of this virus?
Well, the answer is simple, and you must have heard it a million times now. Social distancing, frequent hand washing, buying
health insurance, and lockdown are the only preventive measure that can break the chain of this virus. Now, you will ask, what about wearing a mask? Isn’t it necessary? This question has been the talk of the town, ever since WHO announced coronavirus as a global pandemic. Today we are going to talk about why wearing a face mask is important.
World’s Take On Wearing Face Mask
Many countries have a different take on wearing a face mask. Some countries have made wearing masks compulsory such as Germany, UAE, Czech Republic, and now India too. Whereas some countries have advised their citizen to wear a face mask, but there is no hard and fast rule against it, such as the United States. Countries like the United Kingdom and Singapore have strictly prohibited healthy people to wear a face mask in order to ensure enough face masks for health workers and patients.
The health ministry of our country earlier stated that only health workers and patients should wear face masks. However, on 9th April 2020, the Indian government made wearing face masks in public compulsory. Whereas, WHO in their guidelines have stated that face mask should only be worn by a sick person and by people who are taking care of that sick person and medical workers. They still believe that social distancing and frequent hand washing is an effective precautionary measure.
Why Should We Wear Mask?
Coronavirus spreads from person to person via small respiratory droplets, which are generated, when an infected person exhales, coughs, or sneezes. You can get infected with the virus if you breathe in these droplets. Face masks protects this from happening, as these masks have tiny holes that filter out small aerosol particles that may come inside your mouth or nose. Also, these respiratory droplets can survive on various objects or surfaces. Touching these contaminated surfaces or objects and then touching your eyes, nose, or mouth can also lead to infection. Wearing a face mask prohibits it. There are three types of face masks: Homemade Cloth face mask, Surgical face mask, and N95 Respirators.
Make sure you follow the guidelines issued by the health ministry of India and wear a face mask in public to limit the spread of the infection. It is also advisable to
buy coronavirus health insurance to ensure the overall protection of yourself and your loved ones.
