I agree on doing whatever one can do to reduce the load. But be careful - the N95 mask is rated to 0.3 microns. When an infected person breathes or coughs, about 46% of the particles is larger than 0.4 microns. (I think my previous post has that article)
So the N95 mask probably is only reducing the load by 50% or so. Better than nothing. And perhaps if one can even reduce the load by 50% that is enough to help a lot.
The other part is that the mask keeps one from touching their face.
I was out today without a mask (Seattle area). Walking down the aisle and some guy coughed without covering his mouth. Right near the bag of potato chips I was going to grab! (I got another brand!)
I would have felt a bit better with a mask on!
Some people are not well-versed in courtesy.
How about the N99 mask... Having trouble finding the virus size. Do you have the smallest size of particles a person coughs up?
I see the N95 mask will work on 0.4.