Dr. Lucky Tran on Spoutible

Everyone in Japan wears masks voluntarily. Why?

In 1918, Japan put a lot of effort into educating the public, providing masks for free, and mandating them in public spaces. They continued to do so, even when places like the US stopped.

The result? Long-term behavioral change.

#COVID

From Gavi article:
From San Francisco, with mask orders: Japan responds to its first 20th century pandemic
Even though the use of facemasks in Japan can be traced back to before the 20th century, it was the Spanish influenza pandemic between 1918 and 1920 that significantly altered the status of wearing masks.
This shift was triggered by the search for effective ways to contain the influenza pandemic. By the autumn of 1918, Japan’s National Public Health Bureau, learning from cities like San Francisco that successfully responded to the pandemic through mask orders, took action. Local authorities across Japan were directed to encourage people to wear masks in hospitals, on trains and trams, and in crowded areas. A year later, free masks were provided to those who could not afford them, and theatres, buses and cinemas were added to the list of public places where wearing masks was mandatory.

03:11 PM - Feb 22, 2023

Dr. Lucky Tran

@luckytran

What Japan did in 1918 was so effective in changing long-term behavior that 100 years later everyone in Japan wears masks voluntarily despite there being no mandates these days.

https://www.gavi.org/vacci...

#COVID

gavi.org

100 years and counting of mask wearing in Japan | Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

As wearing face masks in public becomes the new normal across the world, what can we learn from a country like Japan, where this has been a long-established practice?

In response to Dr. Lucky Tran.

03:11 PM - Feb 22, 2023

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100 years and counting of mask wearing in Japan | Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance