What is more important than masks?

Yesterday I attended a trade show in Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam and everyone was wearing masks - except me. Why? One, I have passed the phase of being scared of Coronavirus. Two, Vietnam, so far, has contained the Chinese pandemic from spreading into Vietnam. Three, I read a post that I am sharing below that explains that washing your hands is much more important than wearing masks 24/7.

Is the obsession with wearing masks to prevent getting infection from the Coronavirus justified? No. The obsession with wearing masks is an example of how we humans over react and believe in concepts that are easy to grasp yet are not logical. The logical time to be wearing a mask is when we are infected. The value of a mask is to keep the Coronavirus inside us. If we are infected we should not be sneezing the virus all over furniture, money etc. The talk of the town should be washing your hands and keeping your distance from sick people, not blindly wearing masks just because.

Here is the information that was shared with me and I found very useful.

Singapore Minister of Health, and many other health authorities in the world, have declared that MASKS DO NOT PREVENT CORONAVIRUS INFECTION. Why? Because the real culprit is our hands. Our hands touch objects hundreds of times in a day like door handles, the toilet paper in the loo, toilet door/water heater knobs, toilet taps/surfaces, tables/chairs in eating places, the elevator buttons in our apartment, office building or hotel including touching money, keys, handphones, laptops, computer keyboard, electrical switches, electronic gadgets, earphones, bus, train, car or aeroplane seats, restaurant menus, spoons/forks/chopsticks, rice scoop, food gripper/tray, trolleys, car steering wheel, car lock handles, car seat buckle, safety belt, surfaces and etc. Then, inevitably the hands touch the face or hair hundreds of times a day. Remember viruses, germs and bacteria can enter through your eyes, nose, mouth, mucous part of your ears and even wounds, cuts, rashes, pimples/acne of your skin. *That is how one gets infected, not just with the Coronavirus, but myriads of other germs and viruses!

Do you know that the hand drier in toilets has the mist germs and viruses in the whole toilet? More than the toilet bowl. Better to wipe your hands on your clothes than to dry them with the hand drier. Ever seen the cleaners wipe these hand driers especially the air vents? Never!

And for those flying in an airplane, the mist germ/virus can infect inside an airplane cabin is your foldable meal table in front of you or your seat buckle or books provided for reading in your front seat pocket. The cleaners never clean them.

So, best prevention against the coronavirus? Wash your hands whenever you can, 20-30 times per day if possible. Masks are good if you already have the virus and prevent other people near you from getting infected when you cough or sneeze! That’s WHO, and the Singapore Health Minister, say!

I am very impressed with Vietnam's call to action from every citizen lead by the government. To get into the trade show I was met by two security guards wearing masks and surgical gloves. They checked my temperature, gave me free mask and squirted alcohol gel into my hands. Good job Vietnam. Let the show go on.

Hi, my name is Chris. I have been working in the Vietnam Garment Industry since 2008. My expertise is advising fashion start-ups. I also serve established brands looking for factories making shoes, socks, bags, hats etc. Vietnam is small and my network of factories is wide. Let's talk about growing your business by manufacturing in Vietnam. www.vietnaminsider.net