The History Of Face Masks

Face masks history: Even before the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, Asian countries, such as Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia were already wearing masks; not only to protect themselves against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreaks but also as a culture. Western countries are now designing more masks to meet the urgent demand due to the Covid-19 pandemic, change perceptions towards mask-wearing, and encourage people to accept it. Conversely, mask-wearing in Asian countries is already a norm, a daily accessory, and not just fashion like in the West.  This leads us to the different perceptions of face masks between Western and Asian countries.   

The Different Perceptions of  Masks – The West vs. Asia

Face masks in Western countries are associated with illness. In other words, individuals are only required to wear masks when they are sick. Western countries think of wearing masks as a villain, seeing it as an evil practice (Face masks history).  On the contrary, the Asian countries accepted the wearing of face masks long before even the Covid-19 pandemic came. It’s more of a culture now than just protecting themselves from illnesses. Wearing face masks has become a civic duty and everyday necessity.  Wearing face coverings in the West is a bit self-centric; to protect you as an individual, while in Asia, wearing face coverings focuses on protecting others around you.  Below is a table summary of the differences in perception of face masks between the West and the Asian countries.

The West	The East
See it as evil	See it as a culture
Purpose – Self-centric	Purpose – protect others
Only worn when ill	Basic necessity
Optional to wear	It is a civic duty

What’s Changed on the Wearing of Face Masks in 2020

At the start of 2020, the perceptions of wearing masks completely changed. Contrary to the past, governments started recommending people to wear face coverings (Face masks history).  According to Masks4All, approximately ten countries had put in place face mask policies by mid-March 2020. By now, 130+ countries recommend that people wear face coverings.  Meanwhile, the Royal Society reports that the number of countries with no history or culture of wearing face-covering has significantly increased. For example, Italy, Spain, and the United States are now adopting face masks more than ever – 83.4%, 63.8%, and 65.8%, respectively.  At the start, the world supply of PPE was inadequate to initiate general use. Simply put, there were insufficient PPEs for armies and medical workers. Most probably, the World Health Organization (WHO) and governments conspired to do a ‘grab all’ while stocks lasted and then ask the general public to wear them later. Because if the private market had a huge demand for millions of masks, armies and medical workers would never have enough. Recent findings indicate that individuals may have the virus but not show symptoms. Therefore, it is essential to wear your face covering to prevent you from passing the virus to the people around you. Kim Lavoie says that wearing face masks can reduce the virus’s transmission through the most common modes, such as droplets ( Face masks history ). 

Why You Need Face Masks Now than Ever 

Most countries are still under lockdown restrictions, and social distancing is still the norm. As things stand now, the Covid-19 threat is not going away soon. So, for now, you should wear masks until most of the population has taken the vaccines. It would also help if you keep the face covered in case of future pandemics or poor air quality; due to haze, fires, and ash.  Visit Biopolis Medical Supply by Denzil Otieno