Interesting that the advice here - masks not helpful - is almost totally and directly contradicted by the advice in all infectious disease transmission training, most other countries that have flattened the curve by dramatically increasing supply and distribution with mandated mask wearing, making them available at the post office etc.

The odd image of folks wearing masks saying masks don't help is not lost on most americans.

Here's a different doctors advice on masks:

The only way for the virus to infect you is through your nose or mouth via your hands or an infected cough or sneeze onto or into your nose or mouth. Use disposable surgical masks and use them to prevent you from touching your nose and/or mouth (We touch our nose/mouth 90X/day without knowing it!). This is the only way this virus can infect you - it is lung-specific. The mask is just to prevent hand to mouth contact, it will not avoid the sneeze part of things.

Masks are a low cost, non-hospital, low side effect, low economic impact intervention. Even if only minimally effective there are very few downsides to mask usage for an individual.

I've come to think that the re-assurance that this virus is "fully contained" - see Kudlow, that masks don't help (see this and others) will come back as some pretty bad advice later on. We'll see I guess.