‘An addiction’: masks come off slowly in Hong Kong as habit outlasts Covid
With the end of Hong Kong’s mask mandate this week, teachers at the Chinese YMCA Primary School knew their pupils would be anxious about attending class without a face covering. The children posed for pictures together in a lesson called “how to appreciate smiling faces”.
“Some students still feel embarrassed,” said Ching Chi-cheung, principal of the school. “It has been a long while since they showed their faces to their peers.”
Elsewhere in east Asia, people have also continued to wear masks.
Japan, which never imposed an official mask mandate, eased guidelines on masks from March 13, including for schools and public transport except during rush hour, when face coverings were still recommended but not enforced.
A poll conducted by Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun last month found 60 per cent of respondents said they “want to wear it as much as possible”, while only 34 per cent said they “don’t want to wear it as much as possible”. Masks remain visible on the streets and elsewhere.
Mask use was prevalent in the region long before the Covid pandemic. During the spring in South Korea, the government encourages mask wearing to prevent respiratory problems from thick yellow dust that seasonally blows in from the Chinese desert.
Some mask retailers in Hong Kong advertised sales this week and flagged plans to reduce their number of stores.
Jeffrey Lam, an adviser to Hong Kong’s leader who started a local mask factory during the pandemic, said he expected enough demand to keep his machines running, albeit at a slower pace.
“We have completed our historical task, but we are not in any urgency to shut it down,” Lam said. “There were quite a few people who caught a flu recently and some people feel it’s healthier [to wear a mask].”
Ah Miu, a stall operator in his 50s, said he was not afraid of catching Covid again but added that he felt “insecure” not wearing a mask.
“It’s like trying to quit smoking,” he said. “It’s an addiction that you don’t just walk away from. It takes time, right?”
This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Primrose Riordan
