Butactuallythescienceis a littlebitdifferentwearingmasters, primarilyadvisedbecausethey'redesignedtostoppeoplepotentiallyspreadingthevirusisalso, insomecasestheretoprotecttheindividual.
Thescientificresearchontheuseofmasksforthegeneralpublictostopthespreadofinfectiousdiseaseis a littlebitmixed, butmostlybecausewehaven't reallyhad a goodopportunityorreasontostudythisquestioninthepast.
Evidencethatwedohavedoessuggestthatindividualswhoareinfectiouswhentheywear a maskcanreducetheirtransmissiontootherpeople.
Andsothisiswhyitmightbe a goodideaforthegeneralpublictowearmasks.
It's importanttorememberthat a maskdoesn't substituteforstaying a gooddistanceapartfromotherpeople, andthat a mask, onceit's upagainstyourface, isnowpotentialsurfaceforcontamination.