Among the Half-Masked

COVID theater is a sign of a healthy society

In Lima’s dusty heat a young man pulled a cart of 7 large sacks, his mask pulled down so he could breath easier. Masking in Peru was the law, including outdoors, and he was doing his best to follow it. With a cheat.

Almost everyone in Lima, especially in the poorer parts of town (where I spent two weeks), was doing the same thing. Masks worn all the time, except when eating, even outside, even when working, but not necessarily covering both the mouth and nose.

It was the same in Kyiv (before the war) and Istanbul. Bucharest was a little different, only about half of the people wore masks outdoors, but everyone did indoors and on public transportation.

While I did hear frustration about Romania’s curfew (9 p.m., it was following a very deadly wave), I rarely heard it about having to wear masks. In any of the countries. Certainly not to the degree you hear in the US (Where I have been yelled at both for wearing and not wearing a mask) or Western Europe.

Why? A few reasons I think.