For N95 masks, the point is to FILTER air; NOT “restrict” it.
For regular surgical masks and the like, it’s not even doing much of that. What it’s actually doing is filtering respiratory droplets, which are how SARS-CoV-2 primarily spreads. In open air, SARS-CoV-2 (like all viruses) experiences rapid protein deformation, rending it inert and non-infectious. For it to spread, it requires droplets of liquid - such as saliva - which a mask helps trap.
Masks reduce both the volume and range of the respiratory droplets that enable transmission of SARS-CoV-2, which substantially reduces the risk of transmission for those nearby an infected person.
Except covid is 3 microns and only n95, n99s stop that - all others are a political/social statement
Almost all the masks I see are cloth masks, usually fairly heavy ones. They restrict breathing, thus oxygen. That’s why you feel a sense of relief when you remove it or when you uncover your nose.
These cloth masks had to be invented. Our little town made tens of thousands of them in the Spring. But they are of no value in the grocery store because you don’t spend enough time around anyone. Social distancing keeps you safe. The mask is more of a virtual signal in areas where you can socially distance. Who says that? The New England Journal of Medicine.
‘Masks reduce both the volume and range of the respiratory droplets that enable transmission of SARS-CoV-2...’
has it been common in your former experience, when going about your daily activities, that people have a tendency to eject ‘respiratory droplets’ from their mouths and noses on any sort of regular basis...? do people spit at you when they talk, or cough or wheeze or sneeze in your general vicinity on a continuous basis that would render a face covering necessary to control their emissions...?
after all, virii are not rare occurrences, they are in fact with us always, many of which are transmissible to humans and come in a variety of contagious intensities...are we to mask up forever to prevent the minimal chance someone near us happens to eject virulent air our way...?