Masks are everywhere in Asia, but have they helped?
TOKYO (AFP) - The use of face masks in Asia during the coronavirus outbreak has been far more widespread than in the West, where governments have urged people to reserve supplies for front-line medical staff. So, have they helped limit infections?
Experts agree that the ordinary surgical masks commonly worn in parts of Asia during cold and hay fever seasons are not a foolproof way to prevent coronavirus infection.
But people infected with the virus are advised to wear them to stop the spread to others, and there is evidence that transmission can happen before a person knows they are sick. That has bolstered the argument of mask supporters who believe they can help limit the outbreak.
In parts of Asia, mask-wearing has been a key response to the outbreak, with Japan's government announcing on Wednesday (April 1) that each household would get two reusable cloth versions, and Hong Kongers not only wearing them but also sending them to relatives abroad.
Dr Keiji Fukuda, director and clinical professor at the University of Hong Kong's School of Public Health, said people in the city see wearing a mask "as a way that the individual is trying to protect both the larger society as well as the self".
"But where I grew up, in the US, wearing masks is seen by some, if not many, as a personal infringement - an unwanted imposed obligation," he told AFP.
The use of masks in parts of Asia, with relatively low numbers of infections and deaths from the virus, including Japan and Hong Kong, has led some to theorise that mask wearing is making the difference.
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