On countless occasions, Director of Public Health G. Srinivasa Rao has urged people to continue wearing mask to prevent COVID-19 infection. However, the senior health official was seen dancing without mask at celebrations on at least two occasions. Videos of it had gone viral on WhatsApp and Twitter.
When this lapse was pointed out at a press conference on Wednesday, Dr Srinivasa Rao defended himself, saying that not wearing a mask generates discussion about mask compliance and leads to adherence among people. He stated that this was “as per our strategy”.
He also said that the Health staff have been relentlessly working for the past 18 months, putting their lives at stake and attending COVID patients. Stating that Accredited Social Health Activists, Auxiliary Nursing Midwives, and other Health staff are like his extended family, he said that they have all taken two doses of the vaccine and hence, danced together for a few minutes.
