See my reply above. Masks were common in Japan and much of Asia long before COVID-19 appeared.
They wore masks even here in the USA. When I lived up in Wazoo State of WA for 14 years, I saw a lot of Asian type peoples, male and female who wore the masks. Crooks here in the USA love mask mandates because they can enter a store with only the eyes showing and the owner of said store thinks nothing of it. Mask, sweatshirt, sunglasses at 11 p.m. at night, hey no problemto!! and just rob the guy blind. Then they ask the guy who did it and he can say, how the hell should I know this all these Dimocratic rules because of Covid I could not see a damned thing of this person’s face, eyes, anything!!!