Panicking about coronavirus doesn’t have to stop you from having fun with your style.
Influencers already proved that by sharing makeup tutorials to go with your face masks (which don’t do much to protect you from coronavirus, just FYI).
Now a set of photos shows New Yorkers carefully selecting masks in stylish prints and colours.
Because why wear a plain old medical mask when you can get a steampunk inspired one? Or a mask to make you look like a cat?
Citydwellers are wearing the masks en masse on the subway, where every cough or sneeze will get you dirty looks.
‘There’s no vaccine, there’s no cure. So why not protect yourself?’ said Ethan Blackmon, 30, from behind a black, ventilated mask and dark shades.
‘The subway is a highway for it.’
Most New Yorkers can’t just stay home or avoid public transport, so the masks feel like their only option for protecting themselves.
But even the most carefully selected mask doesn’t put a stop to building anxiety around the illness.
‘I can’t stop working,’ said Jenny Alvarez, 25.
‘I fear not being able to breathe, congestion in my chest. I’m scared that someone right next to me could have it.’
‘I’m on the train all day,’ Karla Cote, 28, said.
‘I go into a lot of rich people’s houses who travel a lot. They’re not going to tell me if they’re sick.’
For others, the masks are more about protecting their loved ones than protecting themselves.
‘I’m going to see my parents and they’re old. I don’t want to spread it,’ said James Perng, 25. ‘They should be asking people to work from home.’
‘I’m scared I’m going to die,’ said Kayla Stephenson, 23.
‘I’m pregnant. I’ve got a two-year-old at home.
‘They don’t even know what’s going on. It’s crazy.’
‘I’m scared that there’s no antibiotics or cure,’ said Jazmin Alvarez, 25.
‘I work in a pharmacy and have to deal with older people. I take the train everywhere.’
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