[Infectious Disease Life Vaccine②] Masks Become Essential Survival Gear

Hoarding and Fraud Rampant
Daily Queue for Securing Supplies

Only Symptomatic Individuals at Early Infection Stage
Must Wear Masks for All Community Transmission

[Asia Economy Reporters Byungdon Yoo, Donghoon Jung] "To slow the spread of the coronavirus, we recommend wearing cloth masks to the entire population, especially in areas with a high risk of community transmission."

On the 3rd (local time), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reversed its previous guideline that healthy people do not need masks and issued new guidance. Since medical masks should be prioritized for healthcare workers, the CDC urged asymptomatic individuals to voluntarily wear "homemade masks." This change came about two months after initially denying the preventive effect of masks despite the World Health Organization (WHO) recommending mask use.

In the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak, opinions on mask-wearing were divided even within South Korea. Some in the medical community argued that masks are tools to block virus spread through coughing and should only be worn by symptomatic individuals. However, as COVID-19 cases surged, fearful citizens rushed to hoard masks, leading to a "mask shortage" starting in early February. The government revised temporary mask usage guidelines in response and allocated 80% of mask supplies to public distribution, implementing a "5-day rotation system" for sales. Long lines formed at pharmacies, and the term "mask refugees" emerged.

On the 5th, a sign announcing "Public Masks for Sale" was posted at the entrance of a pharmacy in Seoul. The government supplied 12,154,000 public masks this weekend to resolve the mask shortage crisis. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

The temporary guidelines announced by the government on the 4th of last month state that "health masks" are necessary for those suspected of infection or at high risk due to underlying conditions. Additionally, for those with low risk of infection or without access to health masks, using cloth masks (including those with electrostatic filter replacements) is also helpful. The guidelines also allow for mask reuse. However, the Korean Medical Association prohibits cloth masks and mask reuse, continuing to cause confusion regarding mask guidelines.

Experts advise that during the early stages of infectious disease introduction, masks should be worn mainly by symptomatic individuals and healthcare workers, but during a pandemic like the current one, everyone should wear masks. Professor Hyunyoung Shin of Myongji Hospital’s Department of Family Medicine said, "Since COVID-19 is characterized by asymptomatic infections, people can unknowingly expose others to the virus. Now that community transmission is widespread, everyone should wear masks, but mask guidelines based on scientific evidence for each stage of an infectious disease are necessary."

The issue lies in mask supply management. When an infectious disease spreads, mask demand explodes, but existing production capacity cannot keep up. Professor Jeonghee Lee of Chung-Ang University’s Department of Economics emphasized, "Due to the supply limitations of mask manufacturers, government market intervention was inevitable. Going forward, a culture recognizing the necessity of government intervention in quasi-emergency situations like infectious disease outbreaks must be established."