In Europe, the concept of wearing masks is gradually changing due to the pandemic

As the COVID-19 epidemic continues to develop in Europe, some European countries and cities have recently made it mandatory for people to wear masks in certain places. Some well-known experts have clearly supported the wearing of masks, and more people are wearing masks in real life. Compared with the early days of the pandemic, when few people wore masks and even discriminated against those who wore them, Europe's perception of whether they could protect against infection appears to be reaching an inflection point.

While many European medical experts remain unconvinced about the effectiveness of masks in preventing infection, some have changed their positions slightly, while others support or call for masks.

At the beginning of the epidemic, a well-known German virologist, Gerhard Drosten, said masks were useless for the general population. But he revealed in a recent interview that he has also started wearing a mask to the supermarket, although the main purpose of wearing a mask is to protect others. He still believes there is no evidence that wearing a mask protects against infection.

"Since the Novel Coronavirus can replicate very actively in the throat and can infect others up to two days before symptoms develop, wearing a mask can protect those around you." Drosten explained, adding that he was wearing a cotton mask.

Alexander Kekule, another well-known Virologist in Germany, explicitly supports the wearing of masks by ordinary people, and even launched an initiative to "not wearing masks is not a true man".

While the majority of the general population in Europe still go out without masks, they are increasingly being worn. In Switzerland, the perception of face masks has changed in just a week or two. It's not just post office workers, drugstore workers, takeaway drivers wearing masks, people going downstairs to take out their rubbish, walking their dogs, and many elderly people wearing masks if they have to go out. In Vienna, Austria, the number of people wearing face masks has also increased significantly.