Covid-19: Survey finds over 50% respondents in Mumbai, Nagpur don’t feel the need to wear a mask

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, 54% of respondents of a survey conducted in Mumbai and Nagpur felt that it was not necessary to wear masks, and that maintaining social distancing is enough to prevent contracting the virus. Around 53% of respondents said they faced breathing problems when wearing masks. As many as 44% said they felt uncomfortable when masked.

The World Health Organization has stressed the importance of wearing masks to curb the spread of the virus.

The survey was conducted as part of ‘ApnaMask’ initiative by EkDesh, an NGO, and 248 people from Mumbai and Nagpur were interviewed.

The survey found 48% of the respondents were not afraid of catching the virus and 42% believed that vaccine was the only solution to controlling Covid-19.

As many as 55% of respondents said masks would not control the spread of the virus. The survey found N95 masks were among the preferred ones.

The compliance towards wearing masks was the highest among those in the 36-55 age group.

In Mumbai, it is mandatory to wear masks at public places. However, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which was levying fines up to ₹1,000 for violations, brought down the amount to ₹200 recently. The municipal authorities in Mumbai have collected fines worth ₹27.48 lakh from 2,798 citizens, who were found without masks in public places between April 9 and August 31.

Dr Siddarth Paliwal, a Mumbai-based consultant, said there might be a certain discomfort because of wearing masks while on the move. “But citizens should not forget that until we do not have a vaccine, masking, and social distancing are the only available ways to fight and control the spread of Covid-19.”