The overwhelming relevance of wearing masks in the fight against the life-threatening Covid-19 virus has been reiterated by all health administrations across the world. The findings from a recent scientific study has once more shown how important masks are in the survival tactics and the coming days can be made much less fearsome through this simple yet highly effective tool.

The report prepared by the the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), University of Washington is basically a set of forecasts over various heads including the role of mask in the war against Covid for a period upto February 1, 2021. While the prediction of global deaths due to the virus within Feb 1, 21 has been shown as 24,88,346 (currently almost 11 lakh) which is really an impending grim scenario, in terms of usage of masks, it has been estimated as much as 30% reduction of transmission can be achieved exclusively through it. Specifically for India, there is much in the report to be taken seriously since it says that as many as 1.27 lakh lives in the country could be saved during the above period just by wearing masks. Translating into numbers, during the above period India’s death count, although predicted to touch  349,000 from current 1.10 lakh, could be reduced substantially to around 2.22,000 if usage of masks can be increased from 70% at present to 95% among the user population. It’s a major caveat as well as assurance for the people and has come at an appropriate time ahead of the festive season when there will be an irresistible temptation to return back to the pre-Covid ways of life. There are also additional ingredients to get ‘emboldened’- downward slide of daily caseloads from the September average of nearly 90,000 to around 55000 currently and deaths from 900-1000 during the above period to around 700 as on October 13. But, that the virus is notoriously unpredictable has been proven quite a number of times and The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal has confirmed on Tuesday that there is every chance of reinfection of a Covid-cured person and as such and he or she has to stick to the SOPs like all others. Herein lies the overarching importance of masks which is definitely going to rise in coming months.

There must have been laxity in adhering to the SOPs (including wearing masks) among a section of people that has resulted in the consequences the country is facing now. The same is almost true for Arunachal as a good number of people cared little about taking protection during the early days when cases were meagre.

In the current fear-ridden atmosphere, as the mask is turning out to be a life saviour, it must be made a part of life by one and all.