There is still low compliance to mask wearing in India despite the country having gone through a deadly second wave of COVID-16, and as the threat of a third wave looms.

According to a survey by community-based social network Local Cicrlces among 33,000 respondents across 312 districts in the country, showed 67 percent of the respondents saying there is limited mask compliance in their area, district, or city.

India Today reported that this poor mask compliance is also prevalent at vaccination centres across the country, which are often crowded, and located in hospitals, clinics, and other health facilities.

Some of the respondents told the survey that their relatives contracted COVID-19 after visiting vaccination centres, which raises concerns of the hubs becoming super spreaders of the virus.

The Indian health authorities have warned that two people without masks have a 90 percent risk of catching the virus, while the percentage is reduced to 30 percent if one of them is wearing a mask.

With over 30.1 million cases and more than 393,000 deaths, India places second to the US in the list of countries worst hit by the pandemic.

Earlier this week, India declared a a new coronavirus variant to be of concern, after nearly two dozen cases were detected in three states.

The Delta Plus variant is said to be more transmissible than its predecessor, the Delta variant, which was first reported in India.

This mutated version of the virus is said to be more transmissible, able to bind stronger to lung cells, and immune to the monoclonal antibody therapy given to some hospitalized COVID-19 patients in India.


Source: India Today
Photo source: India Today