Why Do Some Countries Not Wear A Face Mask?
Face Masks Eliminate Several Possibilities of Transmission of the Virus.
The novel Coronavirus also is known as COVID 19, and SARS-CoV-2 has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization since its first detection in the Chinese city of Wuhan. The first and foremost protective measure against this infection is to wear a face mask that would help you not to touch your face so that the virus cannot enter your internal system.
Globally, the number of confirmed cases of COVID 19 is increasing every day as the transmission from person to person has escalated in multiple countries, and the basic rule by which we can be safe during this pandemic is to wear a face mask. Until now, a total amount of 502, 789 individuals have obtained the virus from the local transmission and are under isolation.
The death toll is also moving rather fast as 22, 337 people have died around the world due to COVID 19 since its outbreak in December 2019. Even though no vaccine has been proved to be totally effective in eradicating this infection, 121, 214 individuals have fully recovered to optimum health after experiencing mild symptoms of the novel coronavirus while being under quarantine for up to 14 days.
Is it useful to wear a face mask?
Since the start of the pandemic, people of many regions globally have adapted to wear a face mask for their own protection against the infection, and anyone who is seen without wearing, one might get disapproving looks from the surrounding individuals in certain areas like South Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong. But it is acceptable to walk without one on the western side of the world. This difference is not only due to the reduced amount of medical supplies or government directives; the history and culture also affect these changes.
According to the directives given by the World Health Organization, masks should be worn by only those individuals who are either sick themselves, or they are in direct contact and taking care of someone who has acquired the virus. There is no need to wear a face mask if you are a healthy individual and not to show any of the symptoms associated with COVID 19. Frequent washing of hands with soap and water, along with the use of hand sanitizer is more effective in fighting the infection.
To wear a face mask in the protection of getting COVID 19 is not reliable, as the sides of the masks are open, and the filter pores of the mask are also large enough for the virus to enter. One of the conditions in which the mask is able to protect you is when someone is sneezing in close contact with you. If a person is wearing a face mask, it should be removed with proper technique so that they would not get in contact with the infection, which is present on the outer surface of the mask.
In the East, countries link mainland China, Honk Kong, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan; all individuals are wearing face masks as anyone could be the potential carrier of COVID 19 and the means of further spread of this virus. In some parts of China, people are getting arrested for not wearing a face mask after the government urged its general population to wear a face mask while traveling outside despite if you are infected or not.
In East Asia, there is a cultural norm of wearing a mask when traveling outside of their homes even before the outbreak of COVID 19, and it is considered impolite to cough or sneeze openly in public. These countries have also faced many viral outbreaks before this one and have little experience regarding how to face them. To wear a face, masks also promote hygienic behaviors, including touching of the face without any reason.
Shortage of face masks across the world
As the requirement of face masks has surged in the last couple of months, the stocks of face masks have now run low, and there are not enough masks available for the hospital staff and medical workers to wear. As there is a shortage of availability of these face masks, people might end up reusing, which is unhygienic practice. Due to this, some places like Japan, South Korea, and Indonesia are producing low-quality masks in large amounts which are essentially useless to wear against the pandemic.