An Indian businessman went viral after paying $ 4,000 to have a mask made of expensive precious metal.
“This is a thin mask and has small pores that help me breathe,” Shankar Kurhade, 49, from Pune, told Agence France-Presse.
“People are asking me to take a selfie,” he said. “They were fascinated when they saw me wearing a gold mask in the market.”
Kurhade, whose company makes industrial warehouses, said Indian Express that he “didn’t do it for publicity” – but said the mask might not be the best choice to fight transmission.
“I’m not sure if it will be effective in protecting me from a coronavirus infection,” he admitted to AFP about the two-ounce mask.
Shankar Kurhade showed his face mask made of goldReuters
The businessman said he “took other precautions.”
“This is not a gold or cloth mask, but social distance and hand washing that will protect humans from the corona virus,” he told Indian Express.
India has made mandatory face masks in public places in an effort to control the pandemic. As of Monday morning, the country had nearly 700,000 confirmed cases with nearly 20,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
