MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government's decision to lift all coronavirus-related restrictions including the mask mandate from April 2 was supported by experts on Thursday, but with a caveat that vulnerable groups must continue to take precaution.
State health minister Rajesh Tope earlier in the day announced that all restrictions will be lifted from Saturday, and wearing mask will not be compulsory.
Dr Anurag Agrawal, Director of the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Delhi, said there was no point in wearing masks outdoors now when the infection rate is low.
"It is a good time to do away with masks," Dr Agrawal told PTI.
He, however, added that wearing masks indoors should still be practiced, especially by the vulnerable population.
The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has also announced that there will be no fine for not wearing masks in public places in the national capital.
Dr Raman Gangakhedekar, former head scientist of the Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases Division at the Indian Council of Medical Research, said, "I will not say that this is an improper decision (to make masks voluntary)."
Dr Gangakhedekar, who was the face of the ICMR when the first wave of coronavirus hit the country in 2020, said currently the rate of infection is very low and the decision has been taken in that context.
He too stressed that masks are still necessary for people whose immunity is low.
This group comprises senior citizens, people with comorbidities and those who have not taken both the doses of coronavirus vaccine, he said.
Dr Dileep Mavlankar, Director of the Ahemdabad-based Public Health Foundation of India, said the time is right to withdraw the mask mandate as infection rate is low and people have developed immunity due to infections and vaccination.
"But people with symptoms must continue to wear masks," he cautioned.
Dr Trupti Gilada, Infectious Diseases Specialist, Masina Hospital said the vaccination status of Maharashtra is high with over 90 per cent of the population having COVID-19 antibodies either due to previous infection or immunisation.
"There have been no repercussions in the form of rising cases over the last few weeks despite festivities, opening up of all public spaces, weddings and elections. We will continue to see a few cases here and there, most of which will be mild," Gilada said.
This is exactly what it means for a disease to become endemic, like other diseases like influenza, she said.
"It was just about time to return to normalcy and removing compulsory masking is the last leg in that direction, a step that has been well calculated and deliberated upon," she said.
But Dr Harish Chafle, Senior Consultant - Pulmonology and Critical Care at Global Hospitals in Parel, Mumbai, had a different take.
Mumbai was and will be the hotspot of COVID-19, simply because it hosts a large number of people from different cities and countries, he said.
Despite the fact that wearing a mask was always mandatory, not many followed the regulation strictly.
This was the situation when rules were absolutely compulsory, he pointed out.
"Now, imagine what would happen if the government decides to completely lift the rules. There will be chaos among people," he said.
"With overcrowded local trains and other modes of transportation, going mask-free in Mumbai so soon will be a bad decision, especially when we haven't achieved 100 per cent vaccination," he said.
As many as 1,225 new coronavirus cases were reported in the country during the day.
The active case tally in the country dipped to 14,307.
The country's daily positivity rate stood at 0.20 per cent.