The people have been strictly instructed to wear masks to cover the mouth and nose when they come out to purchase essential commodities. But with the increasing demand, the masks have gone out of stock in the medical stores in the town.
The grocery, vegetable and petrol bunks have made it compulsory to wear the masks for customers.
They have been refusing to provide goods if the people come without masks to the shops. Such awareness is created among the people but getting the maks is an arduous task.
The N-95 mask is recommended but the medical stores do not have any stock of masks at present. At the same time, some shopkeepers have been trying to encash the situation by selling the masks at a higher price, said a local resident.
An official on the condition of anonymity said, even the officials who are engaged in containing the spread of Covid-19 in the taluk have not been getting the masks. They are forced to use the same masks after washing them. Some personnel have been using handkerchiefs to cover the nose and mouth.
Meanwhile, confusion prevailed on the use of masks. The health officials have been claiming that the people who have been suffering from infections should use the masks. But the police have not been allowing the people to come out without the masks.
Medical Officer Nagaraj Katawa said, the people who are infected and who are in close contact with the infected patients should wear the mask. Healthy people need not wear masks. If necessary, people can use normal masks instead of N-95, he explained.
He said, the people who are suffering from cough, cold, fever and other symptoms should wear masks. Masks should not be worn for more than eight hours in a day as it may lead to other health issues, he added.
Tahsildar Manjunath Bhogavati said, any person can sneeze at any moment. The handkerchiefs could be used to cover the nose while sneezing.
DySP Vishwanathrao Kulkarni said, as the Covid-19 is highly contagious, people were being asked to wear the mask when they come out to buy essential goods. However, it was not being insisted on the healthy people to compulsorily wear the masks, he added.
