I haven’t yet seen anyone wear a mask that prevents air from going in or out through the gaps on the sides. Plus, people have no eye protection. A mask is simply useless.
It’s not totally useless, is my point. Of course it’s not perfect protection.
As for virons going in the sides of the mask, they are generally propelled by the speaker, so they head toward the front of the other person’s face.
I understand the objections. I’m in NYC, so I figure our generally good numbers are partly a result of everyone stopping a few virons and it making a difference.