Those simple sets of numbers USFRIENDINVICTORIA came up with speak for themselves. True, other factors come into play, but no other factor will prove to be more important than what those numbers indicate. Because the mere fact of a population which is wise enough to wear masks during a viral outbreak will also implement any additional measures necessary. So this simple metric becomes self fulfilling and one which can reliably be counted own to produce similar results when applied by other countries or entities.
The beauty here is in the metrics' simplicity of complexity.
USA (little mask-wearing) Deaths/million = 204
Taiwan (mask-wearing) Deaths/million = 0.3
S.Korea (mask-wearing) Deaths/million = 5.0
Japan (mask-wearing) Deaths/million = 4.0
Fascinating...
USA, Taiwan, S. Korea, Japan.
What is the deaths/million figure for Wuhan, China? China seems to be the most mask-wearing group in the world. What is THAT number? (Of course, it’s impossible to come up with a response, as China lies about everything, including the number of deaths.)
I don't see that. In reality Taiwan succeeded in containing COVID-19 by intensive and intrusive surveillance of their citizens and a sophisticated and rapid border security process. Since they have a national medical system they were able to link that data to each person and do things like require everyone who wanted to enter the country to have a permit texted to them on their personal cell phone which the citizen then showed to the border control agents.
The simple correlation of mask wearing data, which may or may not be accurate, to nationwide results does not imply causation. I don't want to waste time doing the math, but I would expect that in the USA the percentage ownership of deer hunting rifles would have a stronger mathematical correlation with the lack of COVID-19 deaths by county than the mask usage statistics.
In my example, rural counties with few to no deaths from COVID-19 due to their isolation and other factors would share the characteristic of having more deer rifles per capita since the residents are more likely to be hunters.
But none of us think that owning a deer rifle protects you from a virus.
In Taiwan, South Korea, and until recently in Japan the public health system was able to rapidly identify, track, and isolate people with COVID-19. It is possible that the rapid adoption of wearing masks in public places helped in that process since wearing masks should generally reduce virus transmission. The success of the efforts against COVID-19 in Taiwan, South Korea and Japan are the result of actions they took at the governmental level, not the behavioral patterns or wisdom of their populations.
Here is a paper regarding how Taiwan achieved their success.
Here Is the English language version of the Taiwanese CDC's website.
Here is the English version of the Taiwanese CDC's guidance on masks. Note that their recommendations are different from what most people think they are:
"If you have respiratory symptoms, please wear a medical-grade facemask and keep at least 1 meter away from others while talking to them."
"If you develop a cough or other respiratory symptoms, you should wear a medical face mask. When your mask is contaminated by secretions of nose or mouth, please fold it, throw it into the trash immediately, and wear a new one."
"Medical-grade face masks are mainly used for preventing the spread of disease and protect people around you. People are advised to wear medical masks when you go to see a doctor or accompany a patient; when you have symptoms of respiratory infections; and if you go out with people with weak immune systems or chronic disease. You should wash your hands frequently to protect yourself from catching illness in other situations."
"You don’t need a face mask in open spaces, including walking on the streets or doing outdoor exercises."