> There is no reliable evidence of the effectiveness of non-medical facemasks in community settings. There has been only very limited study of non-medical (clo

> There is no reliable evidence of the effectiveness of non-medical facemasks in community settings. There has been only very limited study of non-medical (cloth) masks so far, because there was not a prior crisis that NEEDED them (where surgical mask supplies were insufficient). The fundamental problem with most of your points is that lack of research on effectiveness is NOT the same thing as proof of ineffectiveness. We can assume that most cloth masks are probably not AS effective as surgical masks or N95 masks (although some materials can achieve surprisingly good filtration), but that's not the same thing as saying they're useless either. Especially true for models with good fit and the ability to install filters. But even a modest reduction in R-effective can greatly reduce the number of number of people infected over time. The healthaffairs article shows that mask mandates reduced transmission: https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00818 https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00818 Beyond that, I'm not going to waste time going point by point in debate with someone determined to "disprove" guidance from the best available medical authorities.