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HomeHealthRaipur worst, Delhi bad, Mumbai best in mask-wearing amid Covid surge, finds...

Raipur worst, Delhi bad, Mumbai best in mask-wearing amid Covid surge, finds think-tank study

Survey finds only 1 city out of 11 with over 50% mask adherence. 36% of those not wearing masks say Covid is not a threat, over a quarter say they feel irritated or suffocated.

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New Delhi: The national capital and the cities of Pune, Raipur and Chandigarh have emerged as the worst performers in a study conducted across 11 major cities to find how many people are adhering to mask protocols for Covid-19. 

Chhattisgarh capital Raipur was found to have the lowest mask adherence at 28.13 per cent. Pune, Chandigarh and New Delhi showed slightly better adherence with figures of 33.60 per cent, 36.30 per cent and 38.25 per cent, respectively.

Non-profit think-tank Digital India Foundation (DIF) conducted the observational study among different age groups at public places across 11 cities. The data was collected between 23 November and 21 December 2021, with a total sample size of 10,841. 

Mumbai was found to be the best performing city with a 76.28 per cent mask adherence. Hyderabad and Shimla followed, but at a much poorer 45.75 per cent and 40.59 per cent, respectively.

Jammu (39.40 per cent adherence), Kolkata (40.55 per cent), Chennai (38.90 per cent) and Guwahati (38.83 per cent) were the other cities covered by the study.

According to the study, over 36 per cent of non-mask wearing participants argued that Covid-19 is not a threat, while another 26 per cent said they feel irritated or suffocated by masks.


Also read: Current Covid surge twice as fast as 2021’s 2nd wave, cases see 10-fold jump in 23 days


Cloth masks dominate, women better at mask wearing

In Delhi, 45.59 per cent people weren’t wearing masks. Of the remaining fully or partially masked ones, at least 65 per cent preferred cloth masks over other types of masks such as N95 and surgical ones. 

Cloth masks are said to be ineffective in preventing Covid infections. N95 masks are better at prevention.

The female population in Delhi was found to be much better at adherence than its male counterpart, with 47.34 per cent women wearing masks as against 31.52 per cent men.

Mumbai also mirrored Delhi on the preference for cloth masks over other types. Women in the city were also better at mask-wearing than their male counterparts.

Methodology

For the study, the sample size was assigned based on the size of the city and caseload during the second wave of Covid-19.

The sample size in metro cities like Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai was 1,500, while it was 1,000 in tier-2 cities such as Chandigarh, Hyderabad and Chennai. In small cities like Jammu, Shimla and Guwahati, the sample size was 500.

Mask adherence was classified under three categories: Fully masked (wearing masks correctly), partially masked (wearing masks below the nose) and no mask (without a mask or wearing it below the mouth).

Cloth masks, surgical masks, and N95 masks were counted under the definition of ‘masked’. Double masking was counted under the N95 category.

(Edited by Amit Upadhyaya)


Also read: Health secretary to brief Election Commission on Covid situation in poll-bound states


 

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