Why orientals wear masks

In many low income countries, the cost of even paper surgical masks is prohibitive , so cloth masks are used, washed and re-used. There is less research on this use than on the use of masks by well people. The efficacy of source control is unknown. So most guidelines recommend a mask for droplet transmitting infections such as influenza and a respirator for airborne infections such as TB and measles. And the longstanding belief that infections neatly fit into either droplet or airborne transmission is not correct.

Respiratory transmission of infections is more complex than this. The respirators are the Rolls Royce option and do protect, and this is a tool for frontline health workers facing epidemics of known and unknown infections. Surgical masks probably also protect but to a lesser extent. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Skip to main content. Opinion I've always wondered: why many people in Asian countries wear masks, and whether they work. Twitter Facebook LinkedIn. He responded with the same question. Once, three people walked past my brother and imitated Bruce Lee battle cries.

The other day, when I went grocery shopping, I ordered a coffee. I practised social-distancing rules and when another customer saw me, she looked at me like gum she found under her shoe. I was wearing a face mask. Since April, European countries and the US have followed the footsteps of Asia in emphasising the importance of face masks. In France, face masks are compulsory on public transport, at secondary schools and, starting this week, in shops and indoor spaces.

The British have announced masks must be worn inside shops from July Hsin-Yi Lo is a freelance writer based in Melbourne. She was a journalist with Newsquest UK.

In the face of a dangerous new contagion, it was second nature for Asian immigrants to put up with a little inconvenience to protect themselves and others. Though he was born in the U. When Asian Americans like Wang and the Chois began sporting masks in supermarkets and stores throughout the San Gabriel Valley, other residents were mystified. By mid-March, with public health recommendations piling up and most retail stores requiring masks, the early adopters seemed prophetic.

County, masks are now ubiquitous. In Huntington Beach, hundreds of maskless demonstrators excoriated government orders to wear face coverings and socially distance as anti-American, fascist and an infringement on their rights. Elsewhere, Asian Americans no longer stood out for their masks.

But they became targets for another reason — the perception, fanned by Trump, that China, and by extension anyone who looked Asian, was responsible for a pandemic that was killing Americans and crippling the economy.

Do you know about the Chinese disease? China brought the virus here! When COVID hit, they quickly closed their borders and implemented strict contact tracing and quarantining. Few people complained about wearing masks. Taiwan, with a population of nearly 24 million, has had fewer than coronavirus cases and seven deaths.

By comparison, Los Angeles County, with about 10 million residents, has had more than , cases and more than 9, deaths. The contrast between Asia and the U. While the U. Perhaps most incomprehensible to many Asian immigrants is the refusal by some Americans to wear masks and follow coronavirus safety guidelines.

Rosemead resident Chong Taing, who is of Chinese-Cambodian heritage, wonders what would have happened if Trump had set an example by wearing a mask early on, instead of disparaging the practice.

Andrew J.