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'Keep masks on, Koreans (and foreign residents)!'

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Brand-new noncommissioned officers with masks on salute during a graduation ceremony on the grounds of the Navy Education Command in Jinhae, South Gyeongsang Province, last week. Yonhap
Brand-new noncommissioned officers with masks on salute during a graduation ceremony on the grounds of the Navy Education Command in Jinhae, South Gyeongsang Province, last week. Yonhap

By Oh Young-jin

As confirmed coronavirus cases rise by the hundreds daily, Koreans are faced with a Shakespearean kind of question that carries a sense of deadly seriousness: To wear a mask, or not to wear a mask? And there's the rub.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other American medical experts put out the public message that effectively says something like: "Don't wear a mask because it won't protect you, rather, it will sicken you; the mask is for medical staff and only if you are sick, then you should wear it for the sake of other people's health."

So I decided to take this "wear-it-or-not" question to an expert ― virologist Dr. Hakim Djaballah, now in New York, who held a position at the Institute Pasteur Korea when the MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak devastated Korea with a 30 percent fatality rate.

Djaballah says the CDC advisory is not for Koreans living in Korea but for Americans living in America, being customized for their general habits and "idiosyncrasies."

For Koreans, his advice is, "keep the masks on."

President Moon Jae-in, second from right, shows his allegiance to the national flag at the start of a Cabinet meeting, Tuesday. Yonhap
President Moon Jae-in, second from right, shows his allegiance to the national flag at the start of a Cabinet meeting, Tuesday. Yonhap

Then, why the discrepancy?

"Say Seoul, (where) millions of people use subways and spend a lengthy time in the crowded space with their faces only 30 centimeters apart (or sometimes less) from each other," Djaballah said. It is known that the coronavirus spreads via droplets sprayed by an infected person when sneezing or coughing and that means without masks, one risks direct contact of pathogens in such situations.

Djaballah's logic has it that the disease is infectious from asymptomatic carriers, meaning it is not possible to say who has it and who doesn't among a multitude of commuters.

The effectiveness of masks varies by type, he says, but wearing one is by far better than standing with an unprotected face in crowded places.

He says American doctors' assertions are that wearing a mask poses an added health risk because the wearer tends to touch their face and in the process may contaminate themselves.

"Americans are not accustomed to wearing masks," Djaballah said. "One of the few cases (in which) they wear them is when a cancer patient goes outside for fresh air."

Multiple rows of people queue to buy masks at a Seoul department store, Tuesday. Yonhap
Multiple rows of people queue to buy masks at a Seoul department store, Tuesday. Yonhap

But Koreans are accustomed to wearing masks to the point of it becoming a habit. "Fine dust and yellow dust ― there are a lot of causes for them to wear masks," he said.

He points out that the U.S. government may not be ingenuous about the mask issue. "I have checked four or five pharmacies only to find that their stocks of masks were sold out.

It has been reported that U.S. stocks of masks are so thin that it may not be able to provide medical staff with them if there is a widespread virus outbreak.

That comes on top of big cuts to staff and budget under the current Trump administration for infectious diseases control. "The U.S. has not experienced any major outbreak for some time and is not prepared for one," Djaballah said.

Asked whether he would recommend New Yorkers wear masks when coronavirus hits, he said it would be a matter of course but added that the city's subways have enough problems without the coronavirus.
Oh Young-jin foolsdie5@koreatimes.co.kr


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