They’ve fumbled with them in public. They’ve been caught wearing them upside down on TV. Sometimes, when posing for photos, they try to match them with the color of their outfits. And there are others, like President Trump, who have chosen to wear no mask at all.
Presidents, prime ministers and other public officials are poised to lead by example. The choices they make and how they carry themselves can send a more powerful message than what they say. Since the coronavirus outbreak, face masks have become potent symbols in how leaders have responded to a public health crisis that often collides with politics and economic concerns.
These days, the simple act of wearing a mask — or not — has devolved into partisan debate not just in the U.S. but in other countries as well. Leaders who don’t cover run the risk of signaling that they think fears of the virus are overblown. Some don’t want to create alarm. Those who do wear them suggest a sense of solidarity and a nod toward science.
As world leaders continue to implement new social distancing guidelines in their respective countries — some of which mandate that masks be worn in public — they shape what a “new normal” looks like.
Below is a look at how some leaders who opted to wear face masks have been implementing measures — and others who decided against it.
