Face Masks: Asia vs. U.S.A.

Seeing Japanese people wearing facemasks was a common thing the last time I visited Japan, 13 years ago. Those I saw wearing facemasks were in high enough frequency it was remarkable to me. The Japanese I worked with over there described wearing masks as a proven method to prevent spreading illness and their civic duty to wear them if they're ill.

Today you'll see most Japanese wearing facemasks. Could that have contributed to why they have only one case of COVID-19 in every 120,500 people and 30% fewer deaths, while the U.S. has one case in every 12,325 people?

We have only 2.6 times as many citizens in the U.S.A. but we have 26 times more geographically area than Japan, making them 10 times as densely populated, and that is conservative given most of the population is in less than half the area. And they have the 4th busiest airport in the world. My guess is if they required everyone and all visitors to wear facemasks, the case count would be significantly lower.

Of course, there are a lot of "ifs", including if the Chinese government didn't cover up the initial outbreak and told the world immediately, including banning travel, we'd probably not see the pandemic we see today. The Chinese government is directly responsible for thousands of lost lives. But enough on that...

https://time.com/5799964/coronavirus-face-mask-asia-us/

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