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Exactly. It doesn't translate to Coronavirus.
The Asian mask wearing is out of politeness to not spread on a cough/cold that the wearer has. It's not specific to any previous pandemic (bird/swine flu, etc), it's more aimed at the common cold.
But if anyone has Coronavirus symptoms they shouldn't be outside, mask or not.
It also only works in a society/culture where the majority of people have a mutual respect for their fellow citizen.
My comment was geared towards mask use for more commonly accepted, less deadly illnesses: colds, seasonal influenza. Would be great if Sarah from HR could keep her germs to herself instead of spreading them around the office thanks very much.
Anyone with corona symptoms should isolate, and employers should enforce this.
I was under the impression that mask use became more prevalent and more expected following bird and swine flu. At least that’s what I’ve been told by Korean and Japanese contacts.
Eseman-
My comment was geared towards mask use for more commonly accepted, less deadly illnesses: colds, seasonal influenza. Would be great if Sarah from HR could keep her germs to herself instead of spreading them around the office thanks very much.
Ah, yes, I see.
I was under the impression that mask use became more prevalent and more expected following bird and swine flu. At least that’s what I’ve been told by Korean and Japanese contacts.
Maybe more prevalent, but it was there to begin with. I remember seeing it out in Japan in the mid 90s when I was there on a business trip and that seems to predate the big recent pandemics of swine flu (2009) and bird flu (1997). There's also a huge cultural difference on bodily fluids. Blowing your nose in public is massively frowned upon.
Greenbank
Exactly. It doesn't translate to Coronavirus.
The Asian mask wearing is out of politeness to not spread on a cough/cold that the wearer has. It's not specific to any previous pandemic (bird/swine flu, etc), it's more aimed at the common cold.
But if anyone has Coronavirus symptoms they shouldn't be outside, mask or not.
It also only works in a society/culture where the majority of people have a mutual respect for their fellow citizen. Fuck all chance of that happening in the UK.
As for "the mask issue". I dislike them, they're not comfortable and often a pain in the arse with glasses. I'll wear them where required (and a bit more than that, for example, if I'm going to shop then I obviously have to wear one but the pavements start to get busy one or two streets away, so I'll put my mask on then rather than right outside the shop, likewise I'll keep it on after leaving the shop and only take it off when the pavements have quietened down). Also I'm not going to wear one when out running, I'd rather pick my routes to keep me away from hordes of people and also make sure I can give other people plenty of space if I do encounter anyone.
(Note that I'm not saying that people wearing a mask is a bad idea, it's obviously going to help cut down on the spread of all manner of diseases, but I don't think the UK is going to suddenly shift to a culture of wearing masks for prevention when the pandemic has all but died down to general lingering levels.)