The problem now is that we don't have enough, so we downplay their effectiveness, to limit panic buying and to make sure that people who need them the most get them. It is a perfectly understandable, though a little dishonest strategy. Also, we don't to give people a false sense of security, being close to someone with a mask is still worse than being far from someone without a mask.
If masks should be diverted to hospitals, then the correct action would be to divert them to hospitals, not to lie to people.
A T-shirt over your mouth or a handkerchief tied around your head might not protect you personally. But if enough people wear them, even a small reduction of viral load in the community will compound over time and result in a meaningful difference in the total number of cases and the load it puts on a nation's health system. That's what ultimately matters, and that's what the Japanese and Koreans understand.
Any country that has the guts to order their citizens to stay home should also have the sense to order them to cover their faces with something substantial whenever they have a valid reason to be outside, e.g. going to work.
People round off quantitative information to qualitative judgements all the time. Nate Silver still has people being angry at him for "Predicting Hillary would win" when he said at there was a 2/3 chance of that happening. It's such a pervasive phenomenon I don't see any reason to think it couldn't be happening here.
In most places, there's simply not enough masks to protect those most at risk (eg: healthcare workers who are constantly in contact with infected patients) AND to have everyone in the community using them.
Improper use of masks is at best pointless, at worst can actually make things worse. The vast majority of people are not used to wearing PPE or dealing with contaminated items. It requires some level of training to fit and wear a mask correctly, and how to properly dispose of them.
You see this with a number of people touching the outside of their mask, and then scratching their face/nose/eyes. or pulling their mask down below their nose, or where it's not even properly sealed around their mouth.
Masks protect the wearer. This is blatantly obvious and scientific reality. Messages to the contrary are absolute propaganda (for instance a common line is "there is no evidence to show protection for civilians"[1] --- because there has never been a study for that case. Yet it's a specious, absurd claim because we know the masks are protective).
Yes, masks are in short supply. This doesn't make misinformation acceptable (including the absurd, anti-reality claim that unless you're perfectly trained and certified perfectly fitted it is "pointless", which is just ridiculous noise). People already touch their face hundreds to thousands of times a day, so the other fear mongering "you'll adjust it" is another bit of nonsensical noise.
As supplies ramp up and we have to return to some semblance of normal society, masks will not only be seen prevalently, they'll be encouraged as one mechanism of controlling spread. And at the time it'll be interesting how all of the propagandists change their tune.
[1] Excluding the evidence in front of our eyes where countries where mask use is prevalent are seeing little spread.
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To put it in tech terms ... someone poorly implementing a security / encryption method may be more dangerous than someone who didn't because the person who didn't may take additional steps that the person who falsely thinks they are protected wouldn't.
Airbags are great - shouldn't put one in front a baby. Sunscreen is fantastic - assuming it's not expired. etc etc.
Using this argument bullet poof vests and helmets "make things worse".
In my experience a mask is a conspicuous reminder of an unusual/dangerous situation - that I would definitely forget about at certain times if I was not wearing a mask - and to be constantly on my guard.
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Also people who are using bullet proof vests / helmets are generally TRAINED on how to use them, thus know the limits.
Ballistic vests and helmets don't collect gunfire that can be transferred to you if you take them off incorrectly, or if you scratch an itch under the vest with a hand that hasn't been decontaminated.
Touching the outside of their mask (more likely to have any virus droplets), then touch their face/eyes/etc.
Lifting the mask with their contaminated hands to scratch their nose or mouth. Touching the mask and transferring contaminants from your hands onto the inside of the mask, or from the outside of the mask onto your hands then to the inside of the mask.
Taking off/disposing of the contaminated masks improperly.
Using a mask beyond when it's safe to do so - most masks are not supposed to be used if they become moist, as they can retransmit and help spread droplets.
In such a case even a simple home made mask does wonders in preventing infected droplets contaminating a wide area around the wearer, not to mention the benefit of reducing hand based contamination due to not being able to touch your mouth and nose.
Due to this the Czech government introduced mandatory mask wearing (including self made) in public - if you don't wear one, the police will first warn you and then you get a hefty fine if you still don't comply. Also Slovakia (a neighboring country) just introduced the same.
As for protecting medical personel - yep they definitely need the best protective equipment tjey can get, to prevent even more of them getting infected (there have already been cases for medical personel, police & firefighters). For that reason an "air bridge" has been established that regularly airlifts PPE from china, even including one of the NATO leased gigantic AN-124s.
That way both regular people are protected (from infecting each other) and first line responders as well (by proper air lifted PPE).
Foe this reason ot feels worrying or almost sad to see the reaction in te UK and USA slowly waking up to the seriousness of the whole situation.
- we have no PPE for first line workers, but rest assured it has been ordered (unless its in plane and in the air now, it's too late, should have been done weeks ago)
- not enough beds/ventilators (should have cleared hospitals of elective surgeries and non acute cases)
- cant tell people to wear masks as there are none (tell them to make some or face a fine)
- people still congregating in bars and restaurants (you should have closed those long ago)
- with schools and day care closed first line responders have nowhere to put their children (keep some vare centers open to care of children of critical workers)
- people are not respecting our guidance (well, then it should not be a guidance but punishable emergency state ordnance)
Hopefully others can get up to speed quickly before it is too late. The local emergency measures in Czech Republichave been pretty strict, but so far (and I really hope not to jinx it) seem to be working. Arround 1200 infected so far with smaller Neighboring Austria havig 5 thousand. Still two people died... But at lest the people on ventilators are still in the tens.