Do you still wear a mask when you go out?
If you still do, shame on you for mask-fishing.
After Singapore lifted all COVID-19 restrictions about two months ago, only about 20% of Singaporeans still wear masks when they head out.
With such a fall in demand, sales of masks have dropped by no small margin—80%.
Only About 20% of Singaporeans Still Wear Masks in Public Spaces
According to Lianhe Zaobao, only about 20% of Singaporeans still wear masks on public transport. On public transport, most of those still wearing masks are the elderly.
In shopping malls, it was observed that only about 10% to 20% of Singaporeans still wear masks, with most of them being retail staff or the elderly.
This means that up to 80% of Singaporeans no longer wear masks when heading out to public spaces—at least you can be well assured that you’re not being mask-fished anymore.
Why the 20% Still Wear Masks: Precaution and Preference
Yet, with high vaccination rates and the discomfort of mask-wearing, why do some Singaporeans still wear masks?
According to interviews conducted by Lianhe Zaobao, there are two key reasons.
First, precaution. Say you live with more vulnerable persons, such as young children or the elderly. Not only are the risks of these vulnerable persons contracting COVID-19 higher, but symptoms are also more severe should they contract COVID-19. Such concerns are even more prevalent considering the recent increase in COVID-19 cases locally.
The logical thing to do is to take all necessary precautions to minimise such risks. For one, you can move out—I mean, wear a mask.
You can’t even blame these people for wanting to take precautions. Remember that auntie in your train cabin coughing the life out of her without wearing a mask? Imagine all the germs being spread around your train cabin because of that. Two possible solutions here—make the auntie TikTok famous, or move to another train cabin.
The third option? Simply err on the side of caution and continue wearing a mask.
And let’s not forget that there are also people among us who are fortunate (or unfortunate, depending on how you see it) enough to have yet to be infected with COVID-19. These rare Pokemon might continue to wear masks as a precaution as well.
A second reason why people still wear masks is preference.
After the years we’ve spent wearing masks, a handful of Singaporeans have gotten used to it—it’s become a habit, almost. Even with the mask mandate lifted, these Singaporeans continue to wear masks out of habit.
Lazy to do your make-up today, say lah.
Others continue to wear masks for personal reasons, such as to guard against health conditions like sinusitis.
With the steep drop in the number of mask-wearers, sales of masks are bound to drop as well.
And drop, they did—by almost 80%.
One particular mask seller interviewed by Lianhe Zaobao shared that before the mask mandate was lifted, his online store would receive one to five orders a day. After the mask mandate was lifted, his online store only receives one or two orders a week.
You might think that cutting the price of masks here to appeal to the kiasu Singaporeans would help, but it didn’t. Even after slashing his masks’ prices, the masks sales still showed no improvement.
However, most mask sellers and manufacturers shared that they will continue to supply masks for those who need them. These mask sellers also shared that they will continue to stockpile masks in case of a sudden increase in demand.
Perhaps they’ll see an increase in demand leading up to Halloween if anyone wants to dress up as a Singaporean mask-fisher.