In preparation for scheduled tour in June this year, Shanghai Ballet dancers wearing masks practice in a dance studio in Shanghai amid the coronavirus outbreak, Mar. 2, 2020. (Photo: China News Service/Tang Yanjun)

It used to be that when leaving for work, most people only had to worry about forgetting their house keys or maybe their phones. However, with the outbreak of COVID-19, now people have added face masks to the list of must-have items when heading out the door. 

"Leaving home without a mask now feels worse than running naked on the street" has become a popular comment on Chinese social media. Wearing a mask has become associated with social responsibility in publicplaces. For many who have returned to work, putting on a mask has become a part of their daily routine, just like washing their face or putting on makeup. 

Even makeup tutorials for how to look good while wearing a mask have gone trending among young Chinese professionals. Now that the lower part of people's faces are being covered up, the eyes have become more of a focal point, and so makeup styles that emphasize thisarea, like those in Japan, have grown in popularity. 

"I thought I would be able to save money on lipstick since I'd be wearing a mask throughout the day. But it turns out that I'm just spending that money on eye makeup," wrote one netizen on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo.

It is not unusual to see Japanese wear masks as they carry out their day-to-day activities, a habit that sometimes baffles newly-arrived foreigners. Comparing wearing masks to holding an umbrella to shade oneself from the sun, an article by British style magazine Dazed referred to it as "the long-standing mask subculture of the East." 

Besides wearing a mask to filter out pollen or pollution and to prevent spreading a cold when getting sick, Japanese also wear masks for cosmetic reasons such as an alternative to wearing makeup, to hide their emotions or just as a fashion statement. 

A crafts blogger on Sina Weibo, who goes by the username Qiyuexiao, shared a photo of her handmade masks on Wednesday. Made from different materials, they came in various colors and prints. Some of the thicker ones are designed to keep the wearer's face warm, as she lives in Changchun, Northeast China's Jilin Province, where winters tend to be relatively cold, she told the Global Times.

"I made them for my family. Children like them a lot. I think we will continue wearing them after the epidemic," she said.

Before the epidemic, wearing masks wasn't as common a habit in China as in Japan. However, since the COVID-19 outbreak, discussions about masks have become a continuous presence on Chinese social media. Some netizens have said they are eager to bid masks adieu so they can once again breathe freely, but others have acquired a fondness for them for various reasons, such as how they make their faces look smaller or make it easier to avoid unwanted conversations. Some have shared old photos of themselves wearing different masks and various matching outfits, noting that they have been a fan of masks for a long time.

It may be unclear whether the face mask will hold onto its current popularity in China as a daily accessory or how it will fit into people's daily routines once the epidemic ends. One thing for sure, wearing masks during the COVID-19 outbreak has become an iconic shared memory for people throughout the country.