What a toad. Masks are theatre unless they are properly cared for and are of appropriate material, thickness, and fit. Which they rarely are. They are also unnecessary in most indoor settings and hardly ever necessary in outdoor settings.
Masks are part of precautions taken. Not the precaution. As far as I know must studies on mask use include the caveat that hand washing and keeping appropriate distances should continue.
There are situations where wearing a mask would be appropriate. In those cases it would be important to follow guidelines on design and care. Otherwise why bother? Most likely improper care and design increase the risk of spreading the virus.
The virus will continue mask or no mask, lock down or no lock down. It will do so until the number of hosts are reduced. That means developing immunity either by people getting the virus and gaining immunity or by a vaccine or series of vaccines. Meanwhile we need to go on about our lives.
By the by whatever happened to simply covering your mouth and nose when you sneeze or cough? If the whole argument for masks is they slow droplet transmission isn’t a solid barrier such as a tissue in your hand better than a piece of cloth?
I painted volatile explosive paints in enclosed tanks. They tested us every 6 months for.....oxygen levels while wearing a mask and walking or jogging. the very best whole face mask lowers your O2 intake. It is dangerous and hurts your health. I am convinced it causes many problems that shorten life. The rates of cancer in the painting trades is very high, and it is not from touching a brush or breathing fumes. Even painters and sandblasters wearing air fed hoods on strictly controlled environments die sooner than the average life span.
Long winded, but masks are not good for you.If you are a doctor or nurse, you would be stupid to not wear one? So why weren’t they wearing them all the time BEFORE Covid 19?