Editorial: Wake up and smell the filter coffee

Last Friday, hundreds of anti-maskers came together at Marine Drive in Mumbai, under the banner Awaken India. They demanded the mandatory use of masks be repealed in India, citing breathing problems for many, due to repeated circulation of carbon dioxide, and the ‘alleged’ depletion of oxygen levels in the body. One of the protestors had in fact mirrored a conspiracy theory that many of his counterparts in the western world had subscribed to, that the coronavirus was a bioweapon unleashed to make big pharma and tech companies richer.

India had latched onto masking early on, with both national leaders and state CMs recommending its usage way back in March. The country’s preparations were prescient, at least on the personal hygiene front, for it is anybody’s guess as to what the toll would have been, had masking not been made mandatory. However, the likes of world leaders such as US President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro downplayed the virus early on and sidelined scientific evidence for false bravado. It resulted in both of them contracting not just the virus, but the derision of millions. And to top it off, Trump took time out from his hospital admission this week, for a quick sortie in Washington to greet his well-wishers.

What was witnessed in India as part of the anti-masking protests was a reflection of similar sentiments expressed globally. In Florida, Rome, Berlin, and Melbourne, people have gathered en-masse to protest lockdowns, curb on personal liberties as well as masking. The notion of ‘personal privilege’ reigns supreme in first world nations when it comes to such agitations, even as over 1 mn globally have already lost their lives to the virus. Hospital and frontline workers are being rendered helpless as they buckle under the pressure of overly-taxed healthcare infrastructure. The irresponsible behaviour exhibited by anti-maskers, who are adding to the COVID burden prompted, Prof Jason Leitch, Scotland’s National Clinical Director to say, “Do they think we’re making it up? 194 countries are making up a viral pandemic?”

The US, which has now turned into the epicentre of the pandemic with over 2.1 lakh fatalities is literally leading the way when it comes to the rise of rebels without a cause. Data from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation said the US could lose as many as 3.63 lakh citizens to COVID by January 2021. A reference point offered was that of Singapore, where as much as 95 per cent of the population wears masks and Hong Kong where 97 per cent residents wear masks. Interestingly, jam-packed Hong Kong’s per capita death rate from COVID-19 is 1/45th of the rate of the US. Closer home, over two months after TN announced free distribution of face masks to all ration cardholders, the scheme is yet to take off. Last week, we had reported on a study that covered 5.75 lakh COVID patients in TN, which said that children are equally susceptible to spreading the virus. Experts also pointed to the viral load being higher in elder children as compared to infants. This is all happening even as the government and stakeholders debate reopening schools in the state.

Endangering children and young adults who are in the vulnerable bracket is one of the fallouts of the anti-maskers’ narrative. At a time when the world is fighting an invisible but common enemy, it is imperative that we collectively become part of the solution, and not part of the problem. For those who still believe it’s all a hoax, this might be the time to wake up and smell the filter coffee.