 A young woman sits at a table at home. She cuts some cotton cloth. Then she uses her sewing machine to make something special. It is something that will protect both her and other people. She is making a face mask to cover her mouth and nose. People around the world cover their mouths and noses for health reasons. Doctors wear face masks when they operate. Many people wear masks to protect them from poor air quality. But in 2020 many more people around the world started to wear masks. They did this to protect each other from the COVID-19 virus. Today's spotlight is on wearing masks. We look at the long history of wearing masks for health reasons. Early records show that some individuals wore masks for health reasons hundreds of years ago. Leonardo da Vinci was a famous artist of the 15th century. He used paint that contained poisonous chemicals. He covered his face with a wet cloth to protect his lungs from those poisons. People also wore masks in the 17th century. At that time a deadly sickness or plague came to Europe. People did not understand how disease was spread. But some doctors wore strange masks over their faces. The masks were shaped like the head of a bird. The long pointed beak contained herbs. These sweet smelling plants were designed to protect the doctor from the smell of the disease and dead bodies. In the 19th century doctors and scientists worked to understand how disease spread between people. They began to understand that the human breathing system could carry and spread germs and disease. Based on this new knowledge scientists suggested something new to surgeons or doctors who operated on patients. They suggested surgeons should cover their nose and mouth with thin material called gauze. When a person breathes out he can expel bacteria. But the gauze would stop this bacteria. It would protect any wound from being infected by it. By the 1920s all surgeons wore masks to operate. By then masks were also used as a treatment to prevent disease. In 1910 in Manchuria China a serious plague broke out. Wu Lien Tei from Malaya worked there. He developed a mask made from gauze and cotton that was tied behind the ears. These masks saved the lives of many doctors. The general population also used the masks to avoid getting the disease. A few years later this method of disease prevention had to be used again. That time people in more than one country had to use it. In 1918 World War One ended. In that same year a terrible disease spread around the world. This global disease was a deadly flu virus. Over a period of two years it infected almost one third of the world's population. Experts estimate that over 50 million people died from the virus. Many governments required everyone to wear masks on public transport and at work. Some people did not want to do this. In San Francisco USA the government told people wear a mask and save your life. Health experts said wearing a mask did not just protect the mask wearer it helped protect others around them. In the middle of the 20th century people started to wear masks for another health reason. In some countries industry and high levels of traffic led to poor air quality. In many parts of Asia people wear masks to protect them from polluted air. For example in the Philippines and Vietnam motorcycle riders wear masks in heavy traffic. In many countries in Asia people consider it normal to wear a mask when out in public. In 2017 Kai from Asian Boss spoke to young Japanese people about why they wear masks. It is considered good behavior. You are not spreading your germs or bacteria around. I put it on because the air smells bad. Other Japanese people wear masks for reasons not connected with health. Some people use masks as a social barrier. One young man told Kai. I put my mask on because I feel people will not notice me so much. That makes me feel less worried. So many people in Asia wore masks that designers of clothes started to make masks to match clothes. Famous designers used international fashion events to show their masks. In 2015 Chinese designer Masha Ma included face masks covered with jewels at a fashion show. But in other parts of the world people did not normally wear masks. Some of the young people Kai spoke to were shocked to discover that people in the West did not wear a mask even if sick. In 2020 the attitude of people in the West changed. A deadly new virus called COVID-19 or coronavirus spread around the world. The World Health Organization advised people how to deal with coronavirus. This included information about the need to wear masks. If people could not keep a physical distance from each other they had to wear masks in public places. The organization explained that masks can prevent someone else from being infected. People all over the world started to wear masks to protect each other. Some countries made it the law that people had to wear a mask in public. But not everyone owned a mask and sometimes masks were difficult to buy. Some governments told people to make their own masks. Spotlights Liz Wade is one person who made masks. She lives in the USA where it was not common to wear a mask before coronavirus. As coronavirus spread around the world Liz started to make masks. She made over 500 cloth masks for family friends and local schools and organizations. Every weekend and many nights after work she sat at home and sewed and made masks. Liz explains how she felt about making masks. I know that homemade masks are not a perfect solution to fighting coronavirus. But they can make a difference if everyone wears them. It makes me feel good to know that I am part of the solution. I am helping people in this simple way. Do you wear a face mask? Is wearing a mask common in your culture? Tell us about it. You can leave a comment on our website or email us at contact at spotlightenglish.com. Visit us on youtube at youtube.com slash spotlightenglish one. The writer of this program was Katie Blake. The producer was Liz Wade. The voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted for the program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again and read it on the internet at www.spotlightenglish.com. This program is called The History of Masks for Health. Visit our website to download our free official app for Android and Apple devices. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.