Coronavirus: Study suggests masks, social distancing will prevent 2 lakh COVID-19 deaths in India by December

 The study revealed that the disease will continue to pose a major public health threat in the country
 

According to a modelling study, social distancing and use of masks will prevent over 2,00,000 COVID-19-related deaths in India by December 1.

 The study conducted by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington in the US suggests that there is an opportunity to further limit the toll of COVID-19 deaths in India.

 Talking about the urban areas, including Delhi, they explained that containment measures which include intensive contact tracing, widespread testing, mask-wearing, and social distancing mandates have helped reduce the spread of the virus.

The study also found out that in the best-case scenario, India can expect approximately 291,145 total COVID-19 deaths by December 1, up from 60,000 in late August.

The study added that if lockdown restrictions continue to ease up and face mask usage remains at current levels, India can expect approximately 492,380 total deaths by December 1.
 

It also said that the 13 Indian states would each have over 10,000 total COVID-19 deaths by December 1.

In all, the study suggests that the country would see over 600,000 COVID-19 related deaths if wearing masks and maintaining social distance were not followed strictly.