This idea that we didn't know about asymptomatic spread in Feb/Mar is revisionist history. There were many, many reports of it coming out of China, and it was being talked about a lot.

Even in the U.S., we had several documented instances in March of asymptomatic superspreader events, including the Skagit Choir on March 10.

It would have been one thing if public health officials had remained neutral on mask wearing, but instead they actively discouraged it, and promoted interventions like hand washing and disinfecting surfaces, which had no real scientific support and are now believed to be essentially ineffective.