A group from the University of Tokyo and other organizations revealed that while 5% of people refer to the infection situation in their area when deciding whether to wear a mask, 3% of people refer to the wearing status of those around them.
A group led by Associate Professor Taisuke Nakata of the University of Tokyo and Associate Professor Reon Takaku of Hitotsubashi University has been conducting weekly online questionnaire surveys on the status of wearing masks since August last year, and released data as of the first week of this month, before March 8, when wearing masks was left to the judgment of individuals.
According to the survey, the percentage of
people who answered that they always wear a mask or generally wear a mask was 3.13% when walking in a city with few people, and
1.66% when shopping quietly at a department store.
It has been generally flat since last year.
When asked about their thoughts on whether they should wear a mask, 5.82% of respondents
said they could take it off or would rather take it off, and 6.67% said they would rather take it off when walking in a city with few people, and
3.30% when shopping quietly at a department store.
It means that it is on an increasing trend this year.
On the other hand,
the percentage of people who "think it is okay to take off their masks but actually wear them" was 8.44% when walking in a city with little traffic, and
6.26% when shopping quietly at department stores.
In addition, when asked for information used to determine whether to wear a mask in multiple answers, 4.50
% of respondents answered that the infection status in the area where they live was the most common, 8.35% said they were wearing the surrounding area,
and
2.26% said the degree of strain on medical care in the area where they lived. ,
▼ Health reasons other than the new corona were 7%, ▼
habituation was 26.25%.
South Korea Mask relaxation and changes in department store sales
The South Korean government lifted the "obligation" and relaxed it to "recommendation" from January 1 regarding the wearing of masks indoors, except for medical institutions, as the number of newly infected people with the new corona is decreasing.
Since the lifting of the mask mandate indoors, department stores in central Seoul have seen a change in sales of some products.
The number of customers who are conscious of not wearing masks indoors and shopping for cosmetics is increasing, and at the department store we interviewed, sales of lipsticks and blushes increased by more than 30% in February compared to the same month of the previous year.
In addition, the number of people who care about fragrance is increasing, and the sales of perfumes are also increasing.
The person in charge of the department store in charge of the cosmetics section said, "Now that the obligation to wear masks has been lifted, we can expect sales to increase in general other than cosmetics and perfumes, as we feel that we can move freely."
New York, USA: Some stores continue to demand wearing masks
In the United States, some stores continue to require the wearing of masks under their own rules, regardless of whether the CDC recommends wearing masks.
A privately owned bookstore in New York City has been requiring customers to wear masks since around June three years ago, and this rule is still in place.
There is a notice at the entrance asking customers to wear masks in the store, and customers who do not have masks are asked to wear masks.
Many customers with young children and elderly people visit this store, so they are continuing to take measures to ensure that customers and employees can spend their time with as much peace of mind as possible in a limited space.
The owner of the bookstore said that there have been no major problems with customers so far, saying, "We have received positive responses from most of our customers, and we will continue to wear masks until the employees and I are satisfied while observing the infection situation in the world."
U.S. Wearing masks rules vary from state to state
In the United States, each state has different rules regarding wearing a mask.
The mask mandate indoors was mandated in some states, but by March last year, all states had abolished it.
In addition, regarding wearing on public transportation such as buses and railroads, for example, in New York State, the obligation to wear it was abolished in September last year, and it is up to the individual to decide whether to wear it or not.
Currently, CDC = Centers for Disease Control and Prevention publishes three levels of "levels" based on infection status for each region, and depending on the level, the CDC may recommend wearing a mask.
This information is updated weekly, and as of March 3 this month, the highest level of the three levels, with the CDC recommending wearing masks even for people who are not at risk of developing severe illness, is about 9.3% of the entire United States.
12% of rice "always wear"
According to research firm Ipsos, when asked in the U.S. in February if they wear masks in public places, 2% said they always wear them, 12% said they wear them sometimes, 18% said they wear them occasionally,
and
26% said they never wear them.
This research company has been regularly examining mask usage rates in the United States since April 44.
The highest percentage of people wearing masks was in December 2020 and January 4, and although it is not possible to simply compare them due to different questions, when asked if they wear masks when they leave their homes, 2020% of all respondents said they always wear them, and 12% of them wear them sometimes.
People in central New York
In early March, most people near a subway station in central New York were not wearing masks, but some did.
A woman in her 3s who was wearing a mask said, "I wear a mask in crowds, on buses and trains, I'm not young, I have to protect myself and my family. That's why I wear a mask. There are people who can't wear it, and you can't force it."
A man in his 70s said, "Recently, someone I know has been infected, and I don't think I can avoid infection in big cities and places with a lot of people. I think that if there are people who can't wear it, it's their choice. We have to do our best to protect ourselves and be considerate of each other."
A man in his 30s said, "I think the corona epidemic is still ongoing, and I was very careful not to get infected from the beginning. I'm very worried that some people don't wear masks indoors, and I think my risk of infection is increasing."
On the other hand, an 20-year-old woman who was not wearing a mask said, "I stopped wearing a mask about a year ago, I feel that the pandemic is over, and everyone is immune and vaccinated. That's why I don't think masks are necessary at all."
A man in his 18s said, "I've been vaccinated four times already, and I think this is the 'new normal', but I'm still wearing a mask on the subway. The vaccination rate is high in New York, so I think the threat I felt a year ago has subsided, and I feel that coronavirus is like the flu."
A man in his 1s said, "I don't wear a mask because I'm healthy and vaccinated. We just follow what the government says."
Expert: "It is important for individuals to be able to judge based on CDC recommendations"
Lindsey Ma, a professor at Virginia Tech who studies the effects of masks, points out that "the risk of infection is very high, especially if you stay indoors for long periods of time, and it's a good idea to wear a mask at all times in those places."
"I think the CDC's way of linking whether or not to recommend wearing a mask to the infection situation in each region is a very good method and I think it is necessary. He acknowledged the importance of deciding whether to wear a mask flexibly according to the infection situation.
In addition, even now that wearing a mask has become an individual decision, there are still a certain number of people who wear masks on public transportation such as airplanes and buses, and citing as an example, "As a researcher, I am pleased that 1% to 2% of people in the United States wear masks. It may have become."