Jessica Berget Editor-in-Chief masked truth M any articles have been published about how wearing facemasks during this virus epidemic does nothing to protect you. However, this week I read an interesting article and it made me think twice about the use of face masks. In this National Post article, Tristin Hopper describes the virus spread in Taiwan in comparison to Canada. While Taiwan is just over the border from China, they have considerably less cases of coronavirus than Canada and many other countries. The writer attributes this, among many other things, to the fact that mask-wearing is normalized in Asian countries and does stop the spreading Room 1020 - 700 Royal Ave. Douglas College New Westminster, BC, V3L 5B2 604-525-3542 Jessica Berget Editor-in-Chief M editor@theotherpress.ca Position Open News Editor © news@theotherpress.ca Morgan Hannah A Life & Style Editor M lifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca Position Open Entertainment Editor M4 humour@theotherpress.ca Christine Weenk Layout Manager M layout@theotherpress.ca = _ Lauren Kelly & Graphics Manager © graphics@theotherpress.ca 4 of diseases. Given that the World Health Organization (WHO) and many other sources claim that masks do nothing to stop the spreading, this is a stance that garners more research. As of April 2, Taiwan has only 339 cases of the virus and only five deaths in the whole country. Very tame as compared to Canada’s almost 16,000 cases and nearly 300 deaths as of April 6, as reported by the Government of Canada’s website. So what did Taiwan do differently keep their country so safe despite being just a hop over the border from the origin of the disease? According to one Bloomberg article, they did everything opposite the WHO said to do. When the WHO said that there was no evidence that the virus could be transmitted via person-to-person, Taiwan health officials reached the opposite @ theotherpress.ca © editor@theotherpress.ca ¥ © /theotherpress f/douglasotherpress Janis McMath Assistant Editor M assistant@theotherpress.ca Sonam Kaloti Arts Editor Marts@theotherpress.ca >) Mp Matthew Fraser Opinions Editor M opinions@theotherpress.ca Caroline Ho Web Editor © webeditor@theotherpress.ca Nhi Jenny' Vo Production Assistant Jacey Gibb Distribution Manager "e 2 conclusion weeks before. Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu claims the WHO said they would “take it from here,” but didn’t hear from them again. When the WHO also initially advised against the use of traveling restrictions from China, while Taiwan put in bans for all affected areas. When the WHO said face masks were unnecessary, Taiwan upped the production and gave them to its citizens. It’s obvious that Taiwan was much better equipped to deal with this virus and maybe there’s something for Canada to take note on in the case of having enough face masks as a safety precaution. Maybe face masks do stop the spread—it’s better than nothing right? You wouldn't want to breathe the same air as someone who is sick, and other people also don't want the reverse from you. Maybe Brittney MacDonald Business Manager Athena Little Illustrator Atiba Nelson Staff Reporter Cover layout by Lauren Kelly Feature layout by Nhi Jenny' Vo Craig Allan Tania Arora EG Manilag Staff Writers Billy Bui Staff Photographer Erin Meyers Jerrison Oracion Cheryl Minns Senior Columnists Tyran Batten James Wetmore Contributors Photo by Jessica Berget Md they do more harm than good if worn too long like other sources say, or maybe they don't do much at all. So, maybe Canada should up the production of masks for the future like Taiwan does. One thing I do know is that the masks provide a sense of security for many people, and if that makes them feel safe and not make them panic, it sounds good to me. More importantly, it’s the people working in the health and safety sectors that need masks more than we do. Limes, Jessica Berget Jessica Berget The Other Press has been Douglas College’s student newspaper since 1976. Since 1978 we have been an autonomous publication, independent of the student union. We are a registered society under the Society Act of British Columbia, governed by an eight-person board of directors appointed by our staff. Our head office is located in the New Westminster campus. The Other Press is published weekly during the fall and winter semesters, and monthly during the summer. We receive our funding from a student levy collected through tuition fees every semester at registration, and from local and national advertising revenue. The Other Press is a member of the Canadian University Press (CUP), a syndicate of student newspapers that includes papers from all across Canada. The Other Press reserves the right to choose what we will publish, and we will not publish material that is hateful, obscene, or condones or promotes illegal activities. Submissions may be edited for clarity and brevity if necessary. All images used are copyright to their respective owners.