Although the UK has been tremendously hit by the covid-19 pandemic, and the governments' ways of dealing with the pandemic have received criticism badly, I still feel I have learned many things from them, especially when it comes to human rights issues. One example of such issues is about alternatives to face covering. Certainly, face maks, hand washing and other sanitary measures are empirically proved to be key to prevent covid-19. And I am not trying to argue that whether wearing a face mask or not is a personal choice and freedom, however, there are circumstances that wearing common face masks or face covering is not suitable or applicable. Such circumstances have become at stake when the UK has entered a stricter lockdown previously (again), and many supermarkets announced that they will "deny entry to people who do not wear masks unless there is a genuine reason." (By the way, I had always thought that wearing face masks in public space has been coming into force since some time in the mid of last year amid the lockdown, but apparently I mistook the meaning of 'compulsory'...)
The British governments have already considered the above circumstances and recognized and authorized the use of exemption cards previously, allowing people who are not suitable or applicable to wear a face mask to present the exemption card in a situation needed. As soon as the government announced entering a stricter lockdown, several mainstream media published articles discussing the issues exemption card. I have gone through some of the articles and information on governmental websites and found out that the exemption cards' design is considerate and humane. First of all, many Taiwanese like me might be a bit surprised about who is enlisted not to wear a face mask. That includes:
- Children under the age of 11 (Public Health England does not recommend face coverings for children under the age of 3 for health and safety reasons)
- People who cannot put on, wear or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness or impairment, or disability
- Where putting on, wearing or removing a face covering will cause you severe distress
- If you are speaking to or providing assistance to someone who relies on lip-reading, clear sound or facial expressions to communicate
- To avoid harm or injury, or the risk of harm or injury, to yourself or others ‒ including if it would negatively impact on your ability to exercise or participate in a strenuous activity
- Police officers and other emergency workers, given that this may interfere with their ability to serve the public
Second, there are multiples and flexible ways to get access to and present the exemption card, but it also depends on which country people live in. Take England as an example, a face-covering exemption card could "come in the form of a badge, a card, or a home-made sign." The next question then came to my mind is that whether carrying an exempt card or a badge will cause any inconvenience or incur any kind of stigma. (I have to admit that there is a blind spot here that in countries like Taiwan, the behaviours of not wearing a face mask itself might trigger repulsive gaze from others.) The English government says that "if you have an age, health or disability reason for not wearing a face-covering: you do not routinely need to show any written evidence of this, you do not need to show an exemption card." But the presence of an exemption card is for cases that "some people may feel more comfortable showing something that says they do not need to wear a covering. And as more supermarkets crackdown on shoppers, it could be useful." Thus, it looks like the arrangement of exemption cards does not cause much extra effort to people in need of one. Other countries in the UK share similar measures.
Nonetheless, the media are not stopping to take their responsibilities in asking further questions. For instance, an article in BBC titled "Who's exempt from wearing masks?: 'I'm scared of abuse for not wearing one'" questioned the definition is too vague to be certain who is qualified to be exempted. Controversies also happen that one celebrity tweeted a photo of him wearing an exemption card bought on amazon only because he does not want to wear a face mask, and his behaviour triggered antipathy. But all these incidences indicate room for public discussion and people who are not suitable or applicable to wear a face mask are widely recognizable, at least recognizable on mainstream media.
In comparison, Taiwan has made wearing face masks compulsory in public space since the very beginning of last year. Still, to my disappointment, none of any mainstream media has ever covered any similar issues for people with alternative needs, even my favourite Taiwan Public Television Service (something like the Taiwanese version of BBC). Ther few exceptions are that a non-mainstream online media "Right Plus" collaborated with Covenants Watch, "the human rights NGO dedicated to monitoring the implementation of the international human rights instruments by the Taiwanese government," along with other disability rights activist groups, and posted an article in regards to many possible issues faced by disabled people amid the pandemic after the alliance held a workshop in April 2020. And also, somehow, the Taipei city health board designed a poster titled "respect different needs of disabled people to wear face masks" and distributed the poster to public sectors in Taipei, but apparently, the poster has received little visibility. (And the poster lacks explanation and leaves no room for discussions.) It is sad to say that any 'alternative' ways to wear a face mask would be considered endangering the public's common goods and eliminated under the huge flag of patriotism.
I understand that people have concerns about others not wearing face masks, especially for an infectious disease like covid-19, and I have no clear answers to that. But we know there are multiple measures to fight against the pandemic, and it is a precious chance to be innovative and include people with various kinds of needs collaboratively to practice anti-covid measures. Without room for discussion, face masks become a personal choice out of one's free will between to wear and not to wear, and wearing one demonstrates that a person has a sense of responsibility to take care of oneself and others. But what kind of face masks or face coverings available is limited and developed merely by and for 'abled and normal' bodies. The choices available are at best between different colours. What our society really need is to have room for discussions and different voices and guarantee resources for people with different needs.
***
Further information:
1. Report from the Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/face-mask-exemption-card-supermarket-b1446210.html
2. Report from the BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-55639186
3. Report from the Right Plus: https://rightplus.org/2020/05/06/cwt-wednesday-7/
4. The poster made by the Taipei city health board: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBEEc-KzOwo
留言
張貼留言