> Touching one's mask is infinitely better than the alternative of touching one's face

That depends entirely on if there is a viral build up on the outside of the mask.

Discouraging people from using N95 masks was specifically to avoid the private hoarding of masks.

But discouraging use of other masks (and N95) by the public is because they do not protect you if they are used wrong. When any air passed around a mask, then you are at risk. Using them right requires proper equipment, sizing, testing, etc... And getting people properly fit, etc was not something that was remotely practical for the general public. That's not to mention the materials used... properly protecting masks have to be made of high-quality and consistent fibers.

The current recommendations for wearing masks is not to protect the wearer of the mask. It is to protect other people. If you take it as a given that there is widespread asymptomatic cases of the virus, then you don't know if you have it or not. So wearing a mask is to protect other people from you. If you are wearing a mask, any virus that you happen to shed will be trapped as you exhale, or at least not be able to travel very far.

Unfortunately, any help that wearing a mask would offer to the wearer is often countered by the false sense of security that they bring. There are many people in masks that think they are protected so they can ignore keeping their distance from others. This is 100% wrong.

The best way to avoid germs from other people is to distance yourself from other people.

This is all false. Try to find a scientific citation. I dare you.

N95 masks, incorrectly fitted, are at least as effective as surgical (in studies, they came out ahead, but not by a statistically-significant amount).

In conjunction with handwashing, surgical and N95 masks make a huge difference.

> Unfortunately, any help that wearing a mask would offer to the wearer is often countered by the false sense of security that they bring

Today's cars are extremely safe. Are you saying that they actually increase accidents because it gives people false sense of security? Should we remove some of the protections, for example the seat belt, because that would make people drive more carefully?

Tesla autopilot crashes are a closer analogy. A seatbelt is (generally) not an improperly used piece of safety equipment, it generates actual security.

> Touching one's mask is infinitely better than the alternative of touching one's face,

No, because the outside of the mask is contaminated and now your fingers are contaminated.

> and in the case of a non-symptomatic individual wearing a mask to reduce outbound infectious particles has no bearing at all.

No, because the outside of the mask is contaminated because those masks are not impermeable and the virus does penetrate it, and so now that persons fingers are contaminated and they contaminate other surfaces.

> The whole 'masks are too hard to use'

So far every single video I've seen of people who aren't HCPs wearing PPE has shown them make mistakes that lead to contamination.

"Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds; don't touch your face" is much simpler than the protocols for donning and doffing gloves and mask.

> No, because the outside of the mask is contaminated and now your fingers are contaminated.

My understanding is that that's a misunderstanding (one that I was under as well).

For people who aren't sick, the worry is that your hands get contaminated (much more common, from surface contact), and then you touch your mask and transfer to the mask, and eventually it works its way in since these aren't N95s.

i.e. it ends up being the same as hand-mouth contact, but people think the mask is keeping them safe from that.

Yes, you're right. That first point was about the DIY cotton masks, not fluid resistant surgical masks.

Right, but even with a cotton mask the worry is hand-to-mask, not the other way around.

When you're out in the world, the potential concentration of viruses will generally be much greater on your hands than on the outside of your mask.

Both of those things seem just as hard as managing a mask. People are crap at handwashing, and face touching is subconscious.

You inadvertently touch your face way more often when wearing a mask, that much is pretty obvious. You also are more likely to be more confident about your safety and behave in a slightly more risky way. Kind of like how cars drive closer to bikers with helmets than bikers without them.

I have found exactly the opposite. I mostly wear a mask because it stops me touching my face.

When I am out and about, I assume that my fingers are contaminated. When I get to my car, I always do a cleanup down with an alchohol wipe and when I get home, do the ABC wash of my hands and face.

Still, wearing the mask is a constant reminder not to touch my face. some people will still ignore that reminder but not everyone is going to follow the rules 100%.

Yes, but touching a dried droplet is much less likely to lead to infection than inhaling one.

>No, because the outside of the mask is contaminated and now your fingers are contaminated.

What's the alternative? That your face is contaminated?

>Touching one's mask is infinitely better than the alternative of touching one's face

...assuming the act of wearing the mask isn't the reason for touching the face in the first place (eg. adjusting the mask)

I commented on exactly this on HN a few days ago - when I venture out these days, I notice some people wearing masks, and just in the short time I see them, pretty much every one has adjusted/fiddled with their mask.

The masks I've seen are of varying types, but I guess most are of the 3M DIY/building variety (that is, masks designed to be worn while doing building work).