Well we are getting closer.

Not quite there yet, but getting closer?

What does the research say about masks?

What Does Research Say About Face Mask Effectiveness?

Dr. Chris Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, has said that face masks represent “probably a 50% protection against transmission,”¹² but other estimates are less reassuring. For example, a study on the ability of masks to block COVID-19, which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, published by South Korean researchers in the Annals of Internal Medicine in April 2020, found:¹³

“Neither surgical nor cotton masks effectively filtered SARS-CoV-2 during coughs by infected patients. Prior evidence that surgical masks effectively filtered influenza virus informed recommendations that patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 should wear face masks to prevent transmission.

However, the size and concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 in aerosols generated during coughing are unknown.

Oberg and Brousseau demonstrated that surgical masks did not exhibit adequate filter performance against aerosols measuring 0.9, 2.0, and 3.1 μm in diameter … assuming that SARS-CoV-2 has a similar size [to SARS–CoV], surgical masks are unlikely to effectively filter this virus.”

Contamination was found on the outside of the masks, wrote the researchers:¹⁴

“Of note, we found greater contamination on the outer than the inner mask surfaces … The mask’s aerodynamic features may explain this finding. A turbulent jet due to air leakage around the mask edge could contaminate the outer surface. Alternatively, the small aerosols of SARS-CoV-2 generated during a high-velocity cough might penetrate the masks.

In conclusion, both surgical and cotton masks seem to be ineffective in preventing the dissemination of SARS-CoV-2 from the coughs of patients with COVID-19 to the environment and external mask surface.”

Criticism of the study by other researchers was brisk, ranging from questioning the handling of the masks before the experiment, which could have caused the observed contamination, to noting that

You can read the whole article here: https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2020/06/19/do-face-masks-help-against-coronavirus.aspx