Not to be the tinfoil-hat wearer in the room, but you must remember that the CDC is walking the line between "providing good health advice" and "minimizing publ

Not to be the tinfoil-hat wearer in the room, but you must remember that the CDC is walking the line between "providing good health advice" and "minimizing public panic". If the USA had a steady supply of masks, they would almost certainly be asking or requiring everyone in public to have a mask on. Because we don't, they have been promoting the idea that "you don't need a mask" in order to minimize panic and make masks more available to people that really need them. Unfortunately this "you don't need a mask" statement is being misinterpreted by people to thinking that masks serve no purpose. But lets just agree that this disease would not be spreading as fast if everyone had a mask on. If nothing else it would prevent people who have the disease (and maybe don't know they have it yet) from spreading it. Surgical masks are effective at stopping particles coming from the mouth of the user. It also minimizes face touching by creating a physical barrier. N95 masks provide the same purpose, but also offer the added value of filtering particles coming from the outside, towards the user.