[Thud]

Surgical and other cloth masks block emissions of chunks of mucous and saliva which are larger than microbial size. They don't block microbial-size particles. What they do is blcok emissions of the larger chunks of mucous and salvia which are laden with lots and lots (and lots) of dangerous microbes.

The size of the initial Covid-19 microbial load into a victim which infects a victim is very important to whether the victim actually contracts the disease. This makes cloth masks useful in preventing the person with the disease from infecting others.

Ben Hecht said, "The race is not always to the swift, nor victory to the strong. But that's the way to bet." Protecting people from Covid-19 is very much a matter of percentages. It's not a matter of either you are protected, or you are not. Reducing the odds of contracting it is always somewhat effective.

Whether any given means of doing so is cost-effective is another matter, and timing is an element there too. Lockdowns were arguably cost-effective in the spring and summer of 2020. They clearly aren't any more.

[Leaning Right]

Thank you for your reasoned and sensible response. Such responses are a bit rare these days!

[Trailerpark Badass]

Lol, if you’re inhaling chunks of other people’s mucous and saliva on anything but a freak occurrence basis, you should ask yourself some serious questions.