But, as you allude to, only if the "medical mask" (or any mask for that matter) is:
-- Step 1- Properly Selected
The mask must be constructed of the specified material for something as infinitessimally small as is a virus, and it must be specifically designed for the wearer (e.g., adult; child, etc.)
-- Step 2- Property Fit Tested and Applied
The mask must be applied to the face such that it is sealed -- sealed -- around its entire perimeter in contact with the skin (i.e., there can be no facial hair or even stubble otherwise an effective and totally necessary seal cannot be achieved)
-- Step 3- Properly Worn
To maintain an intact seal completely around the perimeter any time the mask is moved or even touched (e.g., when it is lifted away from the face to scratch your nose or, as I have seen on several occasions, when it is lifted away from the face to avoid coughing or sneezing into it then reattaching it with the goop collected in it) Step 2 must be repeated in its entirety to re-establish the seal
-- Step 4- Properly Maintained
After each wearing or immediately after the mask is sneezed or coughed into it must be removed and, if designed as such, cleaned thoroughly with an antiseptic solution before it may be worn again. If this is not or cannot be done, the mask must be replaced.
So, while it's true that cloth masks are no more effective against virus transmission (to or from the wearer) than is a handkerchief, the wearing of other types of masks including "medical masks" must follow the foregoing PPE protocol lest their effectiveness be compromised or, as in the case of attempting to control a virus, rendered completely ineffective; that is, no more effective against transmission of a virus (to or from the wearer as, when those "droplets" everyone likes to reference to support their position of ubiquitous muzzle-wearing), than not wearing a mask at all.
Granted, but not my point. My only point was that the title was false and misleading.
I hate masks and laugh at people wearing them alone in their car, alone jogging a mile from the nearest persons, couples who sleep together wearing them when walking alone. A lot of stupidity out there. But the study’s fact was that medical masks can work and cloth masks can’t work.
The title misleads to the concusion that NO masks can work. And that is a lie. N95 masks still work the best when used correctly.