You *will* wear a mask.

[George K]

[89th]

[Horace]

I'm old enough to remember when the media was telling us that masks were ineffective.

[Axtremus]

Anti-mask laws have a long history, in the USA as well as in other parts of the world.

There were no lack of anti-mask laws passed to outlaw the Ku Klux Klan, and anti-face covering law passed to ban the Muslim niqabs/hijabs.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-mask_law

Now, as the thread title suggests, thou shalt wear mask!

[jon-nyc]

I’m all for requiring masks on public transportation (where it can’t be closed at least).

[Jolly]

@jon-nyc said in You *will* wear a mask.:

I’m all for requiring masks on public transportation (where it can’t be closed at least).

Works for me.

[Klaus]

I'm not against rules that prescribe masks in these circumstances, but shouldn't it at least be possible to buy masks before making it a requirement?

[George K]

@Klaus said in You *will* wear a mask.:

I'm not against rules that prescribe masks in these circumstances, but shouldn't it at least be possible to buy masks before making it a requirement?

Precisely. I ordered some three weeks ago. They should be here on Tuesday.

A local gas station was selling them for - $7 each (but they look reusable).

[Axtremus]

Taiwan’s policies on face mask:

Recognizing that it had to ensure an adequate supply of medical equipment, including face masks, for health professionals and the public, Taiwan’s government stopped exports of surgical face masks on January 24 while requesting local companies to step up production. Daily production is set to reach 10 million soon, divided between the public, medical, and industrial sectors.
The government also took control of face mask distribution from the private sector on Jan. 31, ensuring there would be no hoarding of supplies or exploitative pricing, as has happened in other places such as Hong Kong. Taiwan also implemented a purchasing policy on Feb. 6 in which every Taiwanese can buy a certain amount of adult and children’s masks per week from pharmacies and clinics for NT$5 ($0.17) each. And to allow for easier distribution and prevent long lines outside clinics, Taiwanese can now start ordering their masks online and pick them up at a later date.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/16/taiwan-china-fear-coronavirus-success/

[brenda]

Looks like this is also part of the supply disruption for the countries who were buying from Taiwan. I wonder how much of that market they choked off?

[Axtremus]

@brenda Mainland China’s face mask production capacity was around 110 million masks per day (late February statistics). China supplied half of the work’s face mask in 2019. Taiwan’s face mask production capacity and policy do not amount to much for the rest of the world in the grand scheme of things.