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Key quote: "I’m not an expert in epidemiology."
This isn't to stop Covid.

It’s to signal people to stay away from each other.

It's also to protect the world from the wearer. Not the other way around. Droplets aren't hurled as far when wearing a mask.

"My mask protects you. Your mask protects me."

> I just want them to understand that they aren’t very much more protective than if they weren’t wearing them. And they’re really not doing a whole lot of good for the people around them. So, we should continue to do social distancing as much as we possibly can.

The headline is rather misleading then. Given most lockdowns don’t encompass starving oneself to death by not leaving the home at all and no epidemiologist has hitherto recommended this, masks still would improve the situation; their use would not be mutually exclusive with any particular level of social distancing.

Ignoring all else, simply reducing the velocity of particles coming out of your mouth is better than nothing, especially if you sneeze