VELLORE: Even as government authorities and agencies have been battling to check the spread of the seemingly unstoppable COVID-19, noted virologist T Jacob John offers a simple solution -- wearing masks with 100 per cent compliance.
“If you wear a mask, it will help you avoid contracting the virus from others and also transmitting it to others, in case you are infected,” he told The New Indian Express on Wednesday.
Scientific evidence has shown that wearing masks can stop the progress of infection, he said. Yet, he finds the political leadership unwilling to propagate the suggestion.
“This is a simple solution to check the progress of the pandemic. But the political leadership is not ready propagate this solution,” he lamented. He stressed that everybody, from the Chief Minister to the peons, must wear the masks to show the way to the public.
The virologist said the general public can go about their routine work if they wear masks.
Referring to the surge in positive cases in recent days, Jacob John, who is the former Head of Department of Virology in CMC, Vellore, said the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to arrive in a couple of months before the decline begins.
“The graph will reach the peak in the first and second week of July. Then, it will start declining,” he predicted, adding, “I think the decline will bring it to the level of the endemic and seasonal flu by September.”
To fight the pandemic in a proactive manner, he suggested three steps -- wearing masks, maintaining hand hygiene using sanitisers frequently and restricting the outside movement of those above 65 years.