One of the admirals on the task force discussed face masks in detail on the daily broadcast.
He told us that wearing face masks will not protect a person from the virus. That is, wearing the facemask does not protect you from the virus. Separation of 6 feet will and does
The face mask prevents transmission of the virus from you to others. The virus is stopped from being expelled by the face mask. Thus, those with the virus and those not knowing they have the virus must wear the masks to prevent unknowingly spreading it to others. Since you do not knw if you are a carrier, wear the face mask in public
Yes, that is what we are told.
Of course, it logically follows that first-responders, who routinely come in contact with a substantially greater number of folks than the rest of us, are potentially "dead men walking" - and they wear the mask only to protect the patient.
Perhaps if the emphasis is placed on protecting first responders more people will be embarrassed into wearing a mask when shopping.