"To this day, the cumulative per capita death rates from #COVID19 in countries that embraced the face coverings, such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore, are a sixth of Anglo-Saxon countries like the US and UK that balked at community masking."
@beforewisdom@augieray Thanks. I found the thread and links interesting as I live in the U.S.. Reason for the high number is the CNP, part of their campaign to help Trump win and open the economy and have more rallies after the #COVID19 lockdowns was to spread misinformation about the virus.
@strong_sue@beforewisdom I agree they were part of the problem, but even though I'm a strong progressive and Democrat voter, I still have to blame the Biden administration for the rush to declare the pandemic over.
@augieray@beforewisdom That was dumb and this winter will prove it. Unfortunately both the GOP and Courts have blocked sensible things like vaccine and mask mandates and with their holding a slim majority of the House, expect big cuts in their budget proposal for healthcare. Sides I long expected more pandemics, RN, part of my job was teaching preparedness. Hospital is a Level 1 Trauma Center so covered all threats.
@edsuom@strong_sue@beforewisdom I agree. I mean, I'll still vote for Biden because I believe it's important the Democrats win. But, if I were a single-issue voter who only cast ballots based on COVID prevention and monitoring, I wouldn't vote in 2024.
@augieray@edsuom@strong_sue@beforewisdom i’m not voting for him or likely any democrat. I am a single issue (covid) voter. They don’t deserve another of my votes.
@augieray I'd love to know what the comparison is to the Philippines. Here we had mandatory everything including masks, shields, curfews, and alcohol bans to keep gatherings down.
@cydonian@Deixis9@augieray Aussies and Kiwis were bludgeoned into wearing facemasks by law. In Asia, the practice of wearing facemasks during flu season (and for pollution in some cities!) is widespread, so it was very easy to encourage people to wear masks.
@KarunaX@Deixis9@augieray Mandatory face masking was everywhere during pandemic, and for a reason. Don’t think anyone was bludgeoned into doing anything; most socially minded Australians and New Zealanders willingly wore masks, just as most Singaporeans did.
There simply isn’t a widespread cultural element, much less for pollution.
@cydonian@Deixis9@augieray Australian Govt made wearing masks mandatory, & fined those who chose not to - hence "bludgeoned".
Yes, many willingly wore masks around the world - I did, although I live in Asia, where no-one was fined for not wearing a mask, and peer pressure was enough to encourage near 100% compliance! Of course, the stronger Asian cultural emphasis on community rather than individualism - as well as a history of mask wearing - made it easy.
@KarunaX@Deixis9@augieray Masks were mandatory in most places in Asia, and yes, enforced by fines. People did get fined in Singapore, and heavily so. The PMs of Singapore and NZ were in constant touch, and had coordinated lot of policies.
The old tripe of community vs individualism is just that: it’s fiction propagated by LKY, Mahathir etc as some form of Asian exceptionalism. The reality is that community groupthink is as prevalent in the West as it is in the East.
@cydonian@Deixis9@augieray Singapore is a little unusual in Asia - it is well known to be highly authoritarian, a state where chewing gum once got you jail time. And I assure you that while there were mask mandates in Thailand & Vietnam, I am not aware of any fines being issued to those who did not wear masked. They were refused entry to shopping centres, cinemas and public transport, but otherwise free to go unmasked.
A similar fine in AU in 2021 was AUD 200, equivalent to THB 4.5k. In effect, the fine for not wearing a mask was higher in Thailand in 2021 than in Australia.
Chewing gum doesnt get you jail time in Singapore. I should know; I just brought some in last Saturday. Sale of chewing gum is banned though, and will give you a fine of SGD 2k. No jail time.
Also: whilst I've worked with, and travelled extensively, in Thailand and love & respect Thai people tremendously, I don't run the risk of getting jailed for offending the head of state in Singapore. I also was able to freely vote in an elections two weekends back, with the assurance that the winner of the popular vote would indeed be declared President.
Whilst we have ways to go, between TH and SG, it isn't SG that's authoritarian in 2023, sadly.
@cydonian@Deixis9@augieray Thailand is sooo much freer than Singapore, even today with a military Govt. Part of this difference is not merely the laws, but culture, whereby Thailand is very lax in policing laws (until there is a problem). Singapore, like Australia, seems keen on ensuring total obedience to laws, seemingly to ensure an acquiescent population..
@cydonian@Deixis9@augieray Yes, Thailand did have a mandate, & as I noted, this wasn't used at all in the north where I spent most time. Whereas a few people were arrested & fined in Oz. I wonder if this goes back to Colonial days, where there were 2 classes (criminals & guards) as it seems today's "guards" still see everyone as a potential criminals. As you have travelled in Thailand, I am sure you are aware of the positive relationship between police & citizens. Oz could learn from this.
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