East Asian Countries Ease Use of Masks
Mask mandates are finally being eased in several countries in East Asia, where pandemic restrictions have lingered for much longer than in other parts of the world.
South Korea dropped indoor mask mandates on January 30. Japan dropped them outdoors and will loosen indoor requirements soon. Taiwan will drop its mandate later this month.
Countries in Southeast Asia and Europe, as well as the United States, abandoned masking requirements months ago.
In many parts of Asia, people have been required to wear a mask diligently for more than two years. That has cemented a habit of putting them on regularly, and habits are hard to change.
Mask customs predate Covid-19 in Asia, so the habit took hold more quickly during the pandemic. For SARS in 2002 and MERS in 2012, health officials across the region persuaded the public to wear face masks.
In South Korea, masks are still required on public transit and in health care facilities.
Japanese authorities are still encouraging people to wear a mask indoors even as they say it is no longer necessary to wear them outdoors. (Japan never mandated masks or imposed penalties. Wearing masks became an unspoken rule.)
Epidemiological studies have shown that mask use is high in countries that kept infections low throughout the pandemic. The avoidance of other respiratory illnesses, like flu and seasonal allergies, is also a reason some people keep their masks on.
Wearing a mask has also been associated with good etiquette for many people in Asia. It is common courtesy to wear a mask in public to prevent others from getting sick. In crowded spaces, unmasked people stand out.
“You will be stared at if you don’t have your mask on,” said Kazunari Onishi, a professor of public health at St. Luke’s International University in Tokyo.
Masks are also worn to protect against the region’s air pollution.
Fine dust levels in East Asia have consistently failed to meet international air quality standards over the years. So people have long been used to wearing a mask to protect against the health effects of the air pollution, such as coughing and tightness of the chest.
The dangers of air pollution are sharply felt in South Korea, where masks are a common line of defense on days when fine dust particles form a gray haze in the sky.
Last year, the average concentration of PM 2.5, a dangerous fine particulate, was 18 micrograms per cubic meter, according to the country’s weather authorities, exceeding the five micrograms per cubic meter deemed safe by the World Health Organization.
In China and India, which have historically recorded some of the worst air pollution levels in the world, health officials have maintained mask mandates to protect against Covid.