Battling rising Covid cases, Mizoram govt asks residents to wear mask 24/7 even at home

Under the 'All Mask' campaign, citizens have been asked to wear masks indoors at all times except while eating meals

With the state's health infrastructure "stretching its limits" to contain Covid-19 infections, the Mizoram government has asked all residents to wear face masks round-the-clock even inside homes and advised them not to dine together at the table.

"Wear a face mask so that you do not have to wear an Oxygen mask." With slogans like this, the health department launched a 10-day-long "All Mask" campaign to ensure that people wear masks all time as the state's Covid-19 positivity rate hovered between 15 and 30 per cent for more than a month.

Also Read | Expert panel recommends Covaxin for 2- to 18-year-olds

Under the campaign, citizens have been asked to wear masks indoors at all times except while eating meals. "Citizens are requested not to dine together on a table and have buffet meals instead. All citizens are requested and advised to be more mindful in hand washing and use of sanitisers," said a statement.

Launching the campaign at Aizawl, Mizoram Health Minister, R. Lalthangliana said that the campaign was launched as per the advice of the state-level expert committee, which was constituted last month following a surge in Covid-19 cases and deaths.

Also Read | India logs 14,313 new Covid-19 cases, lowest in 224 days

Mizoram has been reporting more than 1,000 new cases daily for more than a month. The state, however, has only one hospital (Zoram Medical College, Aizawl) catering to critically infected persons. The state's total active cases stood at 14, 381 as it reported 1,430 new cases on Tuesday. Death toll touched 368. Of these, 9,556 active cases were in the state capital, Aizawl and 269 deaths.

The cases are rising when the same in the rest of the country was on the decline.

Also Read | Covid-19 curbs, night curfew extended in Bengaluru till October 25

"The government is working hard to augment critical care facilities in the state, but the health infrastructure is currently stretched beyond its limits. So the citizens need to strictly follow Covid appropriate behaviour for their own safety. “Prevention needs to start from every home, and that is why we request all citizens to wear masks even at home, so as to minimize the risk of infection and further spread of the virus,” he said.

Health experts identified non-adherence of Covid safety protocols and continuous migration of people from the coup-hit Myanmar as the two major reasons behind a surge in Covid-19 cases in the state.

Watch the latest DH Videos here: