Don't Be a Hero

Chan Chun Sing, in his unfortunate leaked audio, dissed Carrie Lam for wearing a mask to a press conference, causing panic in Hong Kong. Did you notice? He is an ex-military man. For decades, he has been socialised to the ethos of being a hero - you know, all that blather about walking right, walking tall, being brave, not backing down from challenge, rushing where angels fear to tread, leading by example, courage, courage and more courage?

Military men are adorable, but they are still naive, idealistic and stupid.

Now, is not the time to be a hero.

The government decision to set an example by not wearing ANY masks at all, puts every single government servant, stat board and government linked employee at risk. Up and down all these organisations, men (especially the ex-military ones) refuse to wear masks. At a time when more and more cases are untraceable, this is plain stupid.

Especially since there are asymptomatic cases that spread viruses without knowing it. Not only that, there are sick people who simply refuse to mask up!! One youngster boasted to another saying that the government would need to pay him to mask up. A lady coughed non stop without covering her mouth 5 m away from me in Chong Pang Market. This morning, a man walking in front of me sneezed into the air the way the Merlion spouts water, three times. Singaporeans descended from coolies. Don't expect them to learn civilised manners overnight. It took years before LKY managed to get us to stop spitting from the 2nd deck of a double decker bus!

I am all for keeping medical grade masks for the frontline medical personnel but what about alternatives? You know,
- cloth masks (with inserts)
- silk scarves
- a purdah
- a veil
See HERE.

If the coronavirus is gonna be around for a long time, then cloth masks (with inserts) should become daily wear for anyone who faces customers. Staff can be trained to remove and replace the inserts twice a day, as well as wash the masks everyday.

There is some research in hospital environments showing that cloth masks exacerbate the spread because they get dirty. However, that is in hospital environments. Most people are not in the high octane environment with high pathogen loads. They just need to protect themselves from snot and the viral shedding that comes from people talking close to them.

More recent research shows that even a tea cloth mask offers some protection. See picture below.

Picture from HERE.

Actually, I don't think it is a military man thing. I think it is an overall man thing. The men all want to be heroes. I timidly asked Ah Yi from the braised pork stall why they were not wearing masks. He squared his shoulders and pointed at his 3 staff, saying, "We are strong! This is a small thing! We don't have to wear masks." Till today, those 4 men are not wearing masks. They are adorable but they are also stupid, naive and idealistic. It was all I could do to not roll my eyes at him.

It is NOT being a hero when you leave a widow behind.

Also, it puts others in danger: the wives, the elderly parents and the children at home. It takes the wife of another ex-military man, Ho Ching, to point out this foolishness. See HERE. Think of all the stress, the politicians' spouses are going through, knowing that their spouse has to meet people from everywhere. Politicians go home and have a decontamination protocol (to protect their family members) BUT the politician is herself/himself going everywhere unmasked.