I love these non-sequitor arguments.
We have been bluntly told that masks will not prevent us from getting the virus. Some mask mfr's even put warnings on to avoid liability. Then folks moralize about how we are "protecting others" by wearing a mask on the chance that we are one of the 600K or so who are currently non-symptomatic... out of 330 million. Then we have to somehow manage to spend at least 15 minutes within 6 feet of one of the 5-20% of the population most susceptible to the virus.
The occurrence you are trying to prevent with putting masks on healthy people has an incredibly low probability... meanwhile... yes, let's let people go back to restaurants, bars, and hotels where the virus is being shared AND concentrated by the HVAC system.
#1 Your mask may not be a proper fit.
So you think even 5% of those out there wearing masks have fit theirs better than I would?
#2 Even if it does do that, it is still under better protection than with no mask. Both for you and the people around you.
OK. Show me the proof for that claim. Show me the scientific study demonstrating that masks on non-symptomatic carriers will prevent them from passing the virus on to someone else... assuming they actually can.... which is not yet proven either.
When you are done doing that, I would like to see the risk assessment comparing the health costs of KNOWN illnesses and injuries from wearing masks to the potential Covid cases saved.
I'll even suggest a test that would prove the effectiveness of masks. Find a sealed 5X5 room. Sanitize the air and surfaces. Alternately place a sample of Covid patients with a range of symptoms in the room with masks re-sanitizing the room between each person. Take air samples at 15, 30, and 60 minutes. Then... do the same without masks.
If masks EVER work to prevent spread of the virus then this test is tee ball. If it won't prevent load here... then it is doing NOTHING in a place like Walmart much less outside.
Here are two references. One is obviously more extreme than the other... but both cast MORE than reasonable doubt on the effectiveness of masks as being proposed.
FWIW, I've looked for studies on masks. There is at least one peer-reviewed study that showed masks to be useless in preventing surgical infections... the owners of the article were bullied into taking it down. There are some studies that show masks can mitigate the amount of virus one puts in the air... and that some medical masks and N95 masks can protect the wearer when worn properly. The problem is that in every case symptomatic people were the test subjects.... most had the flu. None had Covid.
So if you are pushing for what some Asian cultures have done for a long time in asking those with symptoms to put a mask on if they go out... I'll be a MUCH easier sell than the idea that 330 million people without symptoms, most of whom do not have the virus, should risk their own health by wearing a mask (even if you consider that risk minor).
Blaylock: Face Masks Pose Serious Risks To The Healthy
COMMENTARY: Masks-for-all for COVID-19 not based on sound data