Over 95% respondents have started wearing mask, covering face: NCAER survey

More than 95% people have started wearing masks or covering nose and mouth, but the percentage of people following other precautions to prevent coronavirus spread is still low, shows an NCAER survey

More than 95 per cent of the respondents have started wearing masks or covering their nose and mouth, but the percentage of people following other precautions to prevent coronavirus spread is still low, as per a survey conducted by NCAER.

According to the third round of the Delhi-NCR Coronavirus Telephone Survey (DCVTS-3), only 32 per cent of the respondents followed all precautions to fight COVID-19 pandemic.

Besides wearing masks, these include using hand sanitiser, washing hands with soap, maintaining a distance of three feet, taking bath after returning home, putting away clothes for washing separately and wearing gloves.

"In the context of precautions taken the last time when one went outside one's house, the use of the mask was near universal (95 per cent)," NCAER said.

 

However, only 45 per cent of the respondents reported maintaining a distance of at least one meter (3 feet) with others, it said.

National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) said the Round 1 of survey was carried out in early April shortly after the first lockdown imposed and Round 2 in late April.

DCVTS-3 was done in mid-June when restrictions were eased (Unlock 1.0) starting June, but coronavirus infections in the NCR were accelerating rapidly, NCAER said. The survey covered 3,466 households.

As per the survey, the percentage of respondents who had washed hands using soap after coming back home from outside was 66 per cent.

A large majority of the respondents also reported using hand sanitiser (66 per cent), though it was reported more by urban respondents (76 per cent) as compared to rural respondents (57 per cent).

Only 32 per cent of the respondents followed all the three precautionary measures, the survey said, adding, "women (28 per cent) were less likely to take all the three key precautions compared to men (33 per cent)".

"It was found that during the one week prior to the survey date, 73 per cent of Delhi NCR's residents had gone outside their homes at least once for some reason or the other.

"There was no significant difference among respondents from different states in NCR, rural or urban areas, red or orange districts," the survey said.

DCVTS-3 also collected data on the activities people resumed after the unlocking procedure was initiated.

"In a remarkably large proportion of households (78 per cent), people had started going to their work places in the 2nd and 3rd week of June," the survey found.

In 18 per cent of the households, people started resuming social activities, such as visiting family, friends and relatives, or attending social functions such as marriages and birthdays, NCAER said.

About 12 per cent of the households reported going to public places of worship like temple, mosque, gurudwara, and church, which has been allowed from June 8 onwards in areas outside the containment zones.

Educational and learning activities are yet to resume in a normal manner as they were in the pre-lockdown period as schools, colleges, and educational and coaching institutions continue to remain closed, it added.

Established in 1956, NCAER's work cuts across many sectors, including trade, infrastructure, logistics, labour, urban, agriculture and rural development.