Replies

"It’s the same thing with the masks. People wear them all day, many days in a row without even washing them. They put them on before they enter a store, touch 100 items, touch their clothes, then touch their mask and their eyes and mouth and nose... then remove the mask on the way out the door to their car."

That's better than allowing them to mouth-breathe ejections of their virus rapidly into a crowded, indoor space ten feet in front of them. An employee at a Walmart told me today, that there was only one customer who obviously didn't try to wear a mask properly. She took it off after getting in then left it dangling from one ear. The employee said that the mask-less customer weighed about 300 pounds and wore an undersized T-shirt and shorts.

That's better than allowing them to mouth-breathe ejections of their virus rapidly into a crowded, indoor space

I agree, though I believe the science isn't totally settled I do think it helps at least to contain the volume of spittle ejected from ones mouth. But whether it prevents the virus which I think is smaller than 5 nanometers, is an open question and depends on the fabric or type of mask (and use, as you said). Some people like those N95 masks, but most of them are good the wearer but not good for anyone around the wearer. The idea behind masks is to prevent an infected person spreading it, though many maybe mistakenly think it helps prevent one from catching it.

However, if the mask is unclean or you're wearing the same gloves over and over (like the cashiers in the markets do), and the hands are unclean, and you touch scores of things, and rub your eyes etc etc the mask is just not going to prevent cross contamination. How long the virus lives outside the body is still an open question. They said those cruise ships still had traces of virus in the cabins 17 days after it was evacuated, but whether those traces are capable of transmitting the disease I don't know.

Good hygiene is, imo, still the best preventive measure one can take.