Is Wearing a Mask the 'New Normal’? Not For People in this Video

It's been 9 months since COVID changed our daily lives. Or did it?

Is Wearing a Mask the 'New Normal’? Find out.

(Photo: The Quint)

As Maharashtra eyes another lockdown owing to the rising number of coronavirus cases, the local Mumbai crowd seems rather unaffected. One stroll down the Mumbai lanes and you will wonder - is coronavirus still a reality?

The Quint hit the streets of Mumbai and spoke to people about why they don't wear a mask. Most said heat is one of the reasons why they decide to take it off.

However, some still believe that COVID-19 is a hoax and there's no need to wear a mask. They believe people are only wearing masks because they are being forced and will be fined if they don't have one on.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar on Sunday, 22 November said that a decision on imposing lockdown in one of the worst-affected states will be taken following a review in the next seven to eight days, reported news agency ANI.

“There was a huge crowd during Diwali period. Even at the time of Ganesha Chaturthi, we saw crowds. We are speaking to relevant departments. We’ll review the situation for the next 8-10 days and then further decision will be taken about the lockdown,” he said.

The Deputy CM also said that while predictions of a second wave are being made, the government has made a lot of “regulations to start schools which includes different ways as to how they should be sanitised.”

His comments come amid reports of the Maharashtra government exploring all options to restrict train and flight services from Delhi, in order to avoid a second wave of coronavirus in Maharashtra.

The COVID-19 tally in Mumbai has now increased to 2,76,507, while the death toll rose to 10,687. Maharashtra's COVID-19 tally went up to 17,84,361 with 4,153 new cases on Monday (23 November), while more than 3,700 patients recovered from the virus.

Video Editor: Veeru Krishan Mohan

Cameraperson: Sanjoy Deb