There's always been a outbreak of some shit or another in Asia that it's just habit to them. You can't just walk into an ER over there if you're sick; you have to pay BEFORE the doctor sees you, and your family has to bring you food, etc. It's nothing like the West, obviously.
So they wear the masks hoping not to get sick, because they'd be fucked.
So they wear the masks hoping not to get sick, because they'd be fucked.