Safety first! Czech museum launches face mask exhibition to archive pandemic essential

'With masks, it is clear cut, they are a symbol of the situation,' says exhibition curator Mira Burianova. Photo: Reuters

In a sign that the coronavirus will one day be history, the Czech National Museum is opening an exhibition of face masks worn to protect against the infection.

The Czech government was one of the first to make it compulsory to wear a mask outside the home. With 8,725 cases and 304 deaths so far, the country has been less badly affected than some in Europe, although opinions differ on what difference masks have made.