Right but lots of Americans are still using masks to try to prevent infection, rather than spread infection as many Asians so politely do. There’s a bit of “what are you doing?” going on in my mind when I see people wearing a surgical mask surrounded by people who aren’t wearing any mask at all. That surgical mask isn’t helping to prevent catching covid by the person wearing it if nobody else is. They need an N-95 mask in those situations. Like I said a lot of this is people have developed a real dependency or anxiety and we do sort of have to work through that. It’s not mentally healthy.
I am not against people wearing masks, at all. What I am saying is that some people are wearing them with futility. If you want to wear a mask then have at it but just make sure you’re wearing an N-95 when around unmasked people if you want to prevent infection.
That is the rub... there is this message that got twisted that masks prevent you catching something which has never been the case. I have people who want to say to wear the mask to prevent catching COVID while in a room full of maskless people. yeah it does not work that way. Does only one doctor in surgery wear the mask to protect the patient? A face shield and airtight mask can prevent you from catching something (assuming you wash your hands and not touchy our face) but unless you are working in a viral lab you wont be that suited up and in general the masks are a communal effort to prevent a spread. If half the people are wearing them then thinking you wearing one is a protection is like putting sandbags 6 feet apart along the entrance to your house to keep out water.
And for pollution, it works. And for allergies, it works. The size of the particles make the mask effective. But virus particles (as you know, I'm not telling you anything new here) are far smaller and cannot be captured by these masks.
No, "they" will try to force us even if it isn't necessary. Therefore, it is important that we resist such nonsense at every turn to make it so there would be such a revolt that they wouldn't dream to try it.