San Diego County health officials recently ordered that everyone wear face coverings "anywhere in public when they come within 6 feet of another person" starting May 1, 2020. I do not plan on complying because the scientific research says it does not help and may actually harm people.
The Center for Disease Control published a pool analysis of 10 RCTs that examined the impact of face masks on reducing influenza infections within a community. They concluded that these studies "found no significant reduction in influenza transmission with the use of face masks."
Research by the National Center for Immunization Research and Surveillance in Australia shows that transmission in COVID-19 infected people, even in close contact with others in a high intensity school environment, is tiny. Of the 735 students and 128 staff members who came in close contact with 18 infected cases only 2 infections were identified — a transmission rate of only 0.2%.
It's reasonable to ask if there's possible harm from mask usage. One study looked at 1607 medical care workers and found that cloth masks lead to higher respiratory infection rates. "The rate of influenza-like illness is statistically significantly higher" with cloth masks. The best science we have shows that mask wearing will not reduce transmission because casual contact is not a common source of transmission.
--MR
