APRIL 7, 2020
KARO-NA! Let Us Mask It!
Who would have imagined, a modest piece of cloth would be in the news and that too, as a saviour in this fight for survival by humanity. Till two weeks back, health agencies across the world were insisting that masks are not necessary unless one is extremely unwell and has got serious signs of coronavirus. Experts and past experiences in handling pandemics suggest that social distancing, identification of infected persons, and quarantine are the key preventive measures to avoid upsurge of infections and mortality rates. However, recent experiences of frontline workers have highlighted the need for masking the infected as well as non-infected people. The health disaster management around the world was working towards identifying only infected people, which were identified on the basis of prevailing symptoms, however there was no focus on asymptomatic human bombs, which were waiting to explode in densely populated areas. And the most important tool to deal with this situation is a simple cloth mask! I could hardly imagine that sewing and knitting can grab highlights in these times.
The primary way the virus spreads is through respiratory droplets. Cough or sneeze can send respiratory droplets six feet into the air but they are relatively heavy and fall to the ground before getting further. But the virus can spread by way aerosol transmission, a process by which respiratory droplets are turned into very small and light particles, less than five micrometres in diameter, that hang in the air for longer. Aerosol transmission, although, is not the primary method of transmission.
Today, frontline workers including doctors, nurses, paramedics, health workers, policemen etc. are exposed to great risk of catching this deadly virus in their line of duty. The centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is encouraging Americans to wear face masks in public to prevent spreading the coronavirus. The extent of spread has forced the CDC to issue a new guidance for people to wear bandanas, t-shirts, other cloth based coverings in crowded areas, especially in hotspots. Ironically, President Trump has rejected the idea by expressing “I just don’t want to be doing - somehow sitting in the Oval Office behind the beautiful Resolute Desk, the great Resolute Desk, I think wearing a facemask as greet presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens, I don’t know, somehow, I don’t see it for myself. Maybe I will change my mind, but this will pass, and hopefully it will pass very quickly.” Indian Council of Medical Research issued similar guidelines, highlighting the importance of facemasks in preventing the disease. Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has voiced the same opinion in multiple public messages. We certainly cannot undermine this serious message.
A study by Dutch and American scientists in 2008 compared the relative efficacy of a tea cloth, a surgical mask, and a N95 mask against aerosol particles of 0.02-1 micron. The N95 mask performs the best, blocking at least 99% of the particles. The surgical mask blocked about 75% and tea cloth about 65% of aerosol particles. As per wikipedia, cloth face mask was first used by the French surgeon Paul Berger in 1987. It was thereafter used around the world to protect against infectious diseases in the twentieth century. This modest piece of cloth in one form or the other played a major role in preventing spread during the Bubonic plague of 1910 and Spanish Flu of 1918. Experts have reflected on these past experiences and recent situations emerging out of ground zero in Italy, Spain, and America. America has gone to the extent of playing pirate by diverting mask consignments in transit to American shores. President Trump has threatened an American company called 3M, which is operating out of China, to stop supplying masks to any other country by invoking extraordinary powers under the Defense Production Act. Indian newspaper The Times of India has started an online campaign #MASKINDIA, where they invite pictures of homemade masks and best pictures are featured in this newspaper. The cloth mask has become the new sign of empathy, care, generosity and countries are donating or gifting it to each other to sail through this pandemic.
This three ply piece of cloth is now known as “Mask for Humanity” and brands like Ralph Lauren, Supreme, Off white, Nike, Adidas etc. are scrambling to make fashion statements by bringing in different designs of this protective gear. There are numerous online stitching tutorials available on the internet prompting us to make masks out of pillow covers, flannel pyjamas, and origami vacuum bags. Who would have imagined that a piece of cloth could become a life saver in the biggest battle humanity is facing today!