Strike against mask wearing in 1930s echoed COVID-19 protests, study finds

New research from The University of Manchester has shown that debates and resistance about wearing face masks go back a lot further than the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Meng Zhang, a Wellcome Trust Research Fellow at the University's Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine, found that barbers went on strike against compulsory mask-wearing rules in 1930s China, arguing that they were unfair, uncomfortable, and discriminatory.