Namo Gamcha: Public Message, Efficacy, and Awareness of Behaviour in Relation to Face Masks
摘要
When made of the best possible material and constructed properly (high-quality cotton, hybrid, and multilayer), the cloth face coverings are successful in limiting the transmission of viruses from the source, especially during times when maintaining social distance is not possible. The extent to which the public adheres to wearing face masks or coverings is shaped by several factors. These include the general understanding of how the virus spreads, the level of perceived risk, the degree of trust and altruistic behavior, individual traits, and any challenges people may face in adopting this practice. Thus, we need to include face masks and coverings as part of “policy packages.” To ensure that people wear face masks and are comfortable in wearing, we created a cloth mask in the form of Gamcha, a traditional Indian towel made up of thin coarse cotton fabric and used by the economically lower sections of the Indian society—mainly physical laborers like coolies, construction workers, and farmers—which is presented in this chapter.