NTAC recommends wearing face masks again

The National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19 has issued a guideline asking hospitals and healthcare centres to reintroduce provisions for wearing masks amid the emergence of a new coronavirus sub-variant that by now claimed five lives in neighbouring India.

“In several countries of the world, the new JN 1 variety has spread. In our country, the Covid-19 infection is under control and that variety has not been detected,” an NTAC statement signed by its chairman Professor Dr Mohammad Shahidullah said.

However, it said, as part of precautionary measures the committee suggests people with lesser immunity and steps for its use in high-risk places like hospitals and healthcare centres along with related protective measures.

The NTAC statement came as India’s Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) under the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) today reported five deaths due to Covid in the last 24 hours in the neighbouring country.

According to the health watchdog Kerala saw two deaths, while Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Punjab reported one death each.  

The NTAC made the recommendations at its 65th meeting which discussed in detail the latest situation of Covid-19, the new coronavirus sub-variant JN-1 and the recent advice issued by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The National Committee asked the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) to review the global coronavirus report and also to enforce surveillance in the country.

The committee also called for quick reorganization of viral diagnosis systems and keeping the ICU facilities ready for treating infected patients.

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) on May 5, 2023, declared “with great hope” an end to Covid-19 as a public health emergency, stressing that it does not mean the disease is no longer a global threat.

/KN/