If masks didn't stop the spread of disease, nobody, even doctors, would bother. The problem is that mask usage writ large does not have a cost/benefit point that warrants recommendation by CDC.
Masks aren't to protect you from other people.
They're to protect other people from you.
In that sense, yes, even a non-filtering surgical mask is extremely helpful. It helps keep your asymptomatic, virus-laden exhalations, coughs, and sneezes from overly contaminating your local environment.
And that, multiplied by everyone, does make a difference.
The most effective, practical response would seem to be distributing surgical masks, mandating everyone wear them in public, and restricting N95+ for health care professionals working in close proximity to infected persons.
I totally agree and it seems what China is doing to contain the spread of the virus.
If you're leaving your house, or entering a public building, your temperature is measured and you have to wear a mask.
E.g. "According to people familiar with the call, [the index patient] felt tired, suffered from muscle pain, and took paracetamol, a fever-lowering medication."
from Michael Hoelscher, one of the doctors who submitted the errant document. Sweden's Public Health Authority was not too pleased, either.
Most alarming, "Scientists spreading erroneous information about coronavirus have been taken to task around the world, including a researcher with ties to Harvard University in the US who tweeted that the spread of the disease was "thermonuclear pandemic level bad."
I don't have/use Twitter/FB for a good reason, I think it's more virulent than coronavirus.
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-flawed-coronavirus-study-sprea...
The gist boiled down to (1) the patient in the documented case was not asymptomatic, (2) the symptoms they experienced were pretty mild re: anything that would indicate non-standard flu, (3) it's an unanswered question as to whether asymptomatic transmission is possible.
The answer to (3) from same article being: possibly, but likely only in rare cases and not as the dominant transmission path.
This is pure BS, unless you suggest every doctor is already infected.
Surgical masks (note the name) protect _others_ from you. (They are unlikely to do much to protect you from others, but I suppose it might be possible under fairly limited circumstances.)
N95 and other test fit respirators protect _you_ from the environment in general. (I suppose they would also protect others from you, but that's really not their point.)
Gloves protect both parties from each other.
When working with highly contagious patients, medical providers wear additional PPE as well (face shields, goggles, suits, etc).
Breaching the skin alone (aka surgery) introduces risks most of us don't have to worry about in our daily lives.
And that's to say nothing of immunocompromised patients (e.g. cancer or transplant).
What's a happy, harmless staph colony on my skin can be very serious for someone else.
Surely you don't suggest the gloves are for protecting the doctor's hands?
Your point is well taken though, I just wanted to clarify for any future readers since misconceptions about PPE seem to abound.