Wearing unclean masks is more dangerous  

By, SALIL GEWALI

Finally, many individual government authorities have decided to crack the whip on the defaulters who do not care to wear masks properly in public places. The fear of losing money has now brought them to senses than the fear of the dreaded coronavirus. The credit also goes to our patrolling police and defense forces for taking the defaulters to task. But I would also like to raise another question. Are the authorities concerned checking whether the worn masks are “clean” or not, or they are just the showpieces?

It is quite noticed many in the market areas are wearing the masks that have not been washed even once since they have purchased. I think the health authorities in their directives should have prefixed the mask with “clean” as — ‘wear a clean mask’ instead of just ‘wear a mask’.  Wearing “unwashed” masks could be more disastrous than wearing no masks amid the spike in the COVID cases. The unclean mask could lend the breeding space not just for COVID -19 but for other viruses/bacteria as well. One strongly feels here that the government should not overlook the unhealthy habit of some of the citizens who go around and mingle with the crowd wearing unwashed masks. Even a small negligence of one citizen can lead to mass infection.