Wearing a mask alone will not prevent the spread of COVID-19. You must consistently and strictly adhere to good hygiene and public health measures, including frequent hand washing and physical (social) distancing.

These types of masks may not be effective in blocking virus particles that may be transmitted by coughing, sneezing or certain medical procedures. They do not provide complete protection from virus particles because of a potential loose fit and the materials used.

We do not recommend requiring the general public who do not have symptoms of COVID-19-like illness to routinely wear cloth or surgical masks because:


There is no scientific evidence they are effective in reducing the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission
Their use may result in those wearing the masks to relax other distancing efforts because they have a sense of protection
We need to preserve the supply of surgical masks for at-risk healthcare workers.


Sweeping mask recommendations—as many have proposed—will not reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission, as evidenced by the widespread practice of wearing such masks in the Hubai province before and during its mass COVID-19 transmission experience earlier this year. Our review of relevant studies indicates that cloth masks will be ineffective at preventing SARS-CoV-2 transmission, whether worn as source control or as PPE.


Surgical masks likely have some utility as source control (meaning the wearer limits virus dispersal to another person) from a symptomatic patient in a healthcare setting to stop the spread of large cough particles and limit the lateral dispersion of cough particles. They may also have very limited utility as source control or PPE in households.

The current Japanese government advice to citizens and residents is that only those with cold or other illness symptoms need wear face masks in public, and that advice makes sense in the current shortage. It also makes sense for healthy people to curb habitual mask usage and not to panic-buy and hoard masks, in order to give priority at least to those who are ill.

Looks like Pep's is posting links that do not agree with his comments again. Usually people post links to support comments, not links that contradict comments. Kind of unusual.

Hell, even the big orange man in the states has eventually come around and wore a mask.

Mandatory masks are expected to come to Milton by Wednesday when the Halton Region will review passing a bylaw making them mandatory for indoor public spaces.

This means that businesses in Milton will require customers to wear a mask inside their stores.

Milton Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Scott McCammon says the decision to make the bylaw Region-wide made sense.