Neal,
these face masks they talk of, are not for no reason called "surgeon masks". They are not meant to protect the wearer from infection, but they are meant for
him not infecting others. The surgeon should not breath into the open wounds of his "victim", and a patient being infectous should not sneeze into the face of his nurse. No infection by mopisture drops or mouth and nose moisture being sneezed or breathed out.
Thats why I recommended the kind of masks that I described on earlier pages. These DO protect the person wearing them, but only if using filters of the FFP3 norm, which may be labelled differently in the US. These filters are not just coffee filters
, but are woven by nano-filament.
The mask frame with silicon rim may cost around 20-30 coins, a filter 5-10 coins. If you have a beard, shave it off, else the mask is insufficently sealed. Men shoud always shave before exposing themselves to a ciontaminated environment where they must wear such half-masks, as they are claled in German. If you do not want that, choose full face-covering masks.
But that is exaggerated for this virus, I think. While the infection potential of this virus is extremely high, it lethaölity is not, SARS was wors,e and the oridnary seasonal flu causes more deaths every season. Many infected people do not form symptoms that seriously takes them out of action.
The simple paper masks have their purpose. But most people who feel afraid simply do not know how to use them correctly and in what way to correctly handle them, technicallyy, so that these masks would do what they should. Wrong purpose and bad handling. No good combination, and thus: almost pointless indeed.