‘Wearing a mask should be a health habit for our own safety’
Citizens need to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour and not depend on govt mandates, feels task force member
MUMBAI: As the city sees a surge in Covid cases—reporting 2,293 cases on Wednesday—dr Rahul Pandit, member of the State Covid Task Force and director of critical care at Fortis Hospital, speaks about mask mandates, booster efficacy and just how worried should we be.
Do the new numbers worry you?
Just looking at the numbers won’t help us understand the disease burden. We need to see if all symptomatic patients are getting tested along with their close and high-risk contacts. There is a possibility that there are more than 2,293 new patients as many are not getting tested. The good part is that 95-96% are asymptomatic. The disease burden will be better understood if we see the hospitalisation rate, intensive care unit admissions and number of people requiring Oxygen (O2) support. Of all the new cases on Wednesday, the city saw 3.6% hospitalisation and 0.47% on O2 support. We do not need to panic. We should be vigilant and use Covid appropriate behaviour since transmission occurs in confined places in poorly ventilated spaces.
Placing a mask mandate is the government’s decision. But speaking as a doctor, I say masks should become a health habit. The government for instance doesn’t mandate that you to look to your left and right before crossing a road and yet for our own safety we do that while crossing roads. Similarly, when we are in an indoor space which is poorly ventilated, or in a crowded place, wearing a mask should be a ‘health habit’ for our own safety.
While most people are fully vaccinated, the response to booster shots or precautionary doses and also vaccination among children is still poor. What needs to be done to rectify this?
People should get themselves vaccinated against Covid-19. The vaccination numbers are low and the government needs to spend more on an information, education and communication (IEC) programme for Covid-19 vaccination. The IEC should talk about the safety of these vaccines, how it has brought down the severity and mortality numbers. The fact that 95-96% of the Covid-19 patients are asymptomatic itself speaks volume about how vaccination has helped. It is important for every individual to get themselves vaccinated as per
the government guidelines.
We should definitely do more testing. I feel we should be doing smart testing wherein symptomatic patients and their close high-risk contacts should be tested. We should also test passengers coming from abroad. If they test positive, their close contacts should undergo testing. Those are the patients most likely to be carriers of any new variant.
What are your views on the new Omicron sub-variant being reported in Mumbai/maharashtra which has also been responsible for the surge in Covid-19 cases in countries abroad?
There will always be some sublineages causing a surge in cases in some or the other country. I don’t think we should be worried about them as the disease is still mild. Instead of getting worried about the new sublineages, we, as common folk, should focus our energy on health habits of masking and following other Covid-19 appropriate behaviours. The government is undertaking genome sequencing to detect new variants and experts will ascertain if the new variant is a cause of concern.
How do you describe the present surge in cases?
Whether it is fourth wave or a surge, it is really nothing more than a play of words. Rising numbers in some parts of Maharashtra and India is a cause of concern which can be dealt with the proven public health measures. The takehome message is this: if you have the symptoms please contact your doctor and get tested as per the doctor’s advice. If you don’t do that you are likely to pass it on to a vulnerable person who has comorbidities. Though the disease is milder now, saving lives at any cost should be our focus.