Sick Fashion: Face Masks Become Mainstream Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

Health centres are recommending that three categories of people wear face masks to stop the spread of coronavirus: people with symptoms of the disease, health care workers, and those caring for people with the virus at home. However, the recommendation hasn't stopped the rise of the latest Instagram trend.

Influencers and bloggers have published numerous posts advertising face masks. Fashion designers have also added masks to their collections, using them as accessories in their shows.

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A visitor at the World of Drum & Bass music festival at the Arena Space club in Moscow.

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A woman wearing a protective face mask stands on a London Underground platform in central London, Britain, 29 February 2020.

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A man wears a protective face mask with a character design inside a jeepney after two cases of coronavirus were confirmed in the country. Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, 4 February 2020.

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Filipino Catholics wearing protective masks attend mass on Ash Wednesday amid the coronavirus scare at the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, Paranaque City, Metro Manila, Philippines, 26 February 2020.

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People wearing face masks travel on a train in Tokyo on 25 February 2020.

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A passer-by wears a protective face mask on a street in Mexico City on 28 February 2020 as the new coronavirus, COVID-19, spreads worldwide.

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A passenger wearing a protective mask waits for a commuter train at a station following an outbreak of the coronavirus in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 3 March 2020.

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A man, wearing a facemask as a preventative measure following a coronavirus outbreak that began in the Chinese city of Wuhan, sits at the Kai Tak cruise terminal, where the World Dream cruise ship is docked, in Hong Kong on 5 February 2020 as health officials conduct inspections in the wake of the SARS-like virus outbreak across China.

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A shopper, wearing a protective facemask amid fears over the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, walks in a store in Bangkok on 17 February 2020.

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A man wears a protective mask bearing the logo of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) while walking with others also wearing masks along a street in the Iranian capital Tehran on 24 February 2020.

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Two men wearing protective facemasks chat on a footbridge in Bangkok on 3 February 2020.

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A security guard wearing a protective facemask salutes visitors at a hotel in Bangkok on 3 February 2020.

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Couples wearing protective face masks attend a mass wedding ceremony organised by the Unification Church at the Cheongshim Peace World Centre in Gapyeong on 7 February 2020.

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Volunteers pose for a photo with their handmade cotton masks in Hong Kong. Some volunteers from a Hong Kong theatre group are using their backstage skills to helping out against the new coronavirus, sewing reusable protective masks for those who can't access or afford them. Jo Ngai, a drama lover and founder of the Nonsensemakers, along with her friend Jessie Han, have turned a theatre rehearsal room into a temporary handmade mask factory.

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Tourists wearing face masks visit Red Square in downtown Moscow on 23 January 2020.

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People, wearing protective face masks following an outbreak of the coronavirus, make their way through a shopping district in Tokyo, Japan, 29 February 2020.

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An Iranian cyclist covers his face with a protective mask as he rides his bicycle through Tehran's Vanak Square on 2 March 2020 following the COVID-19 outbreak.

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A British tourist wearing a protective mask poses for a photo taken by a friend (not pictured) in front of a portrait of late Communist leader Mao Zedong (L) at Tiananmen Gate in Beijing on 23 January 2020.