Assam minister and senior BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma hit back Sunday morning after his comment – there is “no Covid in Assam… (so) there is no need to wear a face mask” – led to a row.
“Those who are making fun on my statement on masks must come to Assam and see how we have contained COVID-19, compared to states like Delhi, Kerala and Maharashtra… along with impressive recovery of economy,” he tweeted. “We will celebrate Bihu also with the same enthusiasm this year,” he added.
Upon being asked by Dwivedi whether wearing masks is required, Sarma responds saying, “What is the need to panic. When there will be (COVID-19 cases), I will tell you to that wear (masks) from today.” Sarma further stresses that the economy has to be revived, and asks Dwivedi how the beauty parlours will run if people are wearing masks. While Assam’s coronavirus numbers are not very high, it will be misleading to claim that the state is completely free of the virus.
As per the data provided by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Assam has 1,964 active COVID-19 cases as on Monday, 5 April, with an increase of 19 cases between 4 and 5 April. Since the outbreak of coronavirus in December 2019, doctors and healthcare experts across the globe have emphasised on the importance of masks in preventing the spread of the virus. While still comparatively low, the fact remains that there are still a number of active cases in Assam – whether it be 1945 or 515 – that still demands the wearing of masks and maintaining of social distancing. India’s rising Covid-19 cases have lately dominated the discourse on and off social media. With several states introducing stern measures to combat the resurgence of coronavirus cases, precautionary steps such as maintaining social distancing and use of face masks are being highlighted time and again.
The Prime Minister’s Office published a review of the COVID-19 situation in India, which emphasised on wearing mask and maintaining social distancing and stated a lack in compliance of such practices as one of the reasons for the recently rising numbers. “It was emphasized that the reasons for the sharper rise in cases could be mainly attributed to the severe decline in compliance of Covid-appropriate behaviour primarily in terms of use of masks and maintaining ‘2 Gaj ki Doori’, pandemic fatigue and lack of effective implementation of containment measures at the field level,” it read. Therefore, Sarma’s comment is highly misleading.
