Of all the public statements regarding a cure for COVID-19 – from cow urine therapy to drinking rum with pepper and two eggs – the Karnataka Health Minister’s is the most scary. “Only god can save us,” he says. Now, unless by “god” he means “science” (thus providing the first recorded instance of faith bringing in science by the backdoor, when usually the traffic is in the other direction), we ought to be scared. Very, very scared, as the posters of Stephen King movies tell us.
Perhaps, to give him the benefit of the doubt, he is merely reminding us that god helps those who help themselves, and is thus telling the non-wearer of masks and those keener on social converging that this is no way to help themselves.
Whether the lockdowns have helped or not, the aftermath of their lifting haven’t been good. And the time lag (about two weeks) between cause and effect leads many into believing that the virus has slunk away. We tend to bet on our biases, after all.
Authorities haven’t emphasised enough the importance of the three things that keep the virus at bay – wearing masks, washing hands, and social distancing. The lockdowns were meant to buy them time to prepare hospitals and beds. Given time to prepare for tests ahead, children prefer to watch TV, others to read or talk to experts. Politicians think it’s a wonderful opportunity for some in-fighting.
India just crossed the one-million mark, and Karnataka is the fastest-growing COVID-19 State in the country. Masks can no longer be a personal choice. The question has divided otherwise intelligent people, though.
As Tolstoy did not say, all mask-wearers are alike; each non mask-wearer has his own reason, ranging from the cosmetic to the political. Some don’t wear because it interferes with what they consider their good looks, others because it is inconvenient, especially if they wear glasses. A third group has a problem with masculinity, figuring that to be seen wearing a mask somehow diminishes their image. Then there is the rebel who will not wear because others are telling him to.
Some believe it is a ‘safe’ way of protesting against the government in general. Perhaps they are unhappy with the China situation, perhaps it is a delayed reaction to demonitisation. Perhaps they didn’t feel protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act was good for their bones.
The former Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav explained the rationale behind his having nine children thus: The government of the day was saying that family planning was important, ‘ek ya do bas’ was the slogan. But since he was in the opposition, he had to oppose the government’s policies and thus had more than four times the prescribed number. Not wearing a mask is easily done.
The non-wearers are just as likely to ignore social distancing norms and hand-washing instructions.
There is a simple slogan the authorities can publicise: wear a mask today or a ventilator tomorrow. It isn’t particularly pleasant, but then neither is COVID-19.
