HKG-YVR Mask Comparisons

Vancouver's mostly wide open spaces help avoid Covid-19

I've been in Vancouver for two weeks now and it's been weird transitioning from a place where masks are worn everywhere except in your own home or when eating, whereas here it's all over the map.

There are a lot of people who don't wear masks outside while walking or exercising, though there are some elderly Caucasian people who wear masks while out and about, as well as Asians. Then it's interesting seeing the odd young person wear masks, when one would think others would make fun of them wearing protection.

Earlier children at school had to wear masks 

On public transport, about half the commuters wear masks, others don't, and again the vast majority of Asians wear masks and some elderly. It's quite surprising that bus drivers don't wear masks at all considering they are interfacing with different people constantly during their shift.

In supermarkets and places like Costco, again about half the customers wear masks. Most staff wear them, but not all. One cashier was double masked and really afraid to touch things other than her cash register, while her colleague only a few metres away was completely unmasked and happily chatting with customers. 

Some stores or offices demand that all visitors must wear a mask, including law offices.

On public transport about half wear masks

Also the mask hygiene levels here are pretty lax. In Hong Kong people sanitise their hands and get out a fresh tissue paper before taking off their masks, while here people just fold it and put it in their pocket, or worse, lay it on the restaurant dining table with no tissue at all -- and the part touching the face is face down on the table!

There are hand sanitisers in shopping malls and a few shops, but overall there aren't many people using them, or any alcohol spray at all. Since I was in the habit of using an alcohol spray in Hong Kong, I bought a spray bottle the other day, which was only in the pharmacy section of the store, mostly to treat open wounds to prevent bacteria.

Is Hong Kong overly fanatic about keeping clean? Or do Vancouverites need to learn more from Hongkongers? 

To enter some shops, masks are required

Fastidious hygiene is a good habit to have, and Vancouver is lucky in that there are big spaces and many live in homes that allow for social distancing. However, would it hurt to pay a bit more attention to cleanliness? We're touching so many things all the time...