Why are Thais still wearing masks in public?

Despite covid has become a ‘normal flu’ for many years, many Thais are still wearing face masks in public. Should this be a health or safety concern for me as a tourist? From my observation as a local, I can say the reasons are complicated and more personal. Here are 4 reasons you may be surprised.

1. To protect themself against air pollution Did you know that Thailand is now regularly faced with the intense dust particles in the air every winter? These dusts came from the agricultural areas, mostly in the northern part of Thailand as well as our neighboring countries where many farmers burned down the agricultural residual after the corps was harvested, which creates the ultra-small dust particles floating into the air. These particles are only 2.5 micrometers wide, thinner than a human hair by 25 times and it is called “PM2.5 dust”. Sensitive people can feel a sore throat or some cause an allergic reaction after being exposed to PM2.5 dust for a few hours while commuting to work. Wearing a face mask is one of the solutions these people can do at a very low cost.If we speak about less serious air pollution, some people are allergic to the perfume or smoke. Imagine if you got stuck shoulder to shoulder in the subway and everyone is wearing their favourite perfume, not only the smell becomes worse but also you will inhale lots of chemicals in one breath. For sure you will at least feel discomfort and might want to sneeze. Wearing a face mask can also help filter some chemicals so it will feel more comfortable to breathe in such a situation.

   

2. To protect themself and their family against airborne diseases I was surprised once I learned that each year there are over 1 million people who get a flu and over 100 people die from just normal flu in Thailand. Elderly is the most vulnerable. If you see older people on the train wearing a face mask, yes they still carry the covid practice until now to protect themself against the flu.For the younger one who is afraid of the flu, the reason may be different. Thai people usually stay in a multi-generation family where people at working age stay with their kids and at least one parent. If a person who works outside gets the flu, the whole family gets it as well. That person may have a strong immune system, but not for their young children and old parent. So, these people feels that the best solution to prevent is to protect themself by wearing a face mask.

   

3. To hide their ‘unflawless’ face Some people might wake up and feel bad about their skin on that day, or just be too lazy to wear makeup. Some people just got a “laser treatment” session and after the session for a week, their skin will be red, very thin, sensitive to sunlights and cosmetics. So the solution for these groups of people is to wear a face mask, so no one can see the bare face and protect the skin from sunlight as well. Well, at least they feel good about themself and it is their choice, right?
4. To do their job Many employers these days realize that being in good health is very important for their employees and instruct them to wear face masks, mainly to protect themself against the on-job pollution. The security guards, street food vendors, cookers, people in the toll booth and sometimes taxi drivers, these are people who are exposed to fumes and pollution for the entire working hours. They are more aware about their health and try to prevent long term effects from the pollution by wearing a face mask.Doctors, nurses, pharmacists and hospital staff are constantly exposed to the diseases for the entire working hours as well. Nowadays, it has become a normal practice to wear a face mask every time when entering a hospital, which never happened in the past time before covid.

Bottom Line: Do not worry if you find someone in public space wearing a mask because most of the time they are protecting themself against the pollution and diseases around. People who get sick usually avoid going to work or expose themself to the public as we all learned during covid time, except they really really cannot avoid it. If you had to wear a face mask for whatever reason, feel free to do so as well. No one will judge you as everyone has their own reason. Stay healthy and have a blissful journey.