It seems like a significant difference -- see how Hong Kong is doing. It needs to be combined with other interventions including social distancing, contact tracing, testing, quarantining. These measures are all additive to each other.
And look to canada, with infection rates less than half that of the US. I'm there now (BC, west coast, very very low infection rate). We are already talking about reducing measures because our hospitals are well below capacity. With all the cancelled procedures, they are less busy than before this crisis. But masks are nowhere near universal. In my area masks are more social signaling, a fashion object only worn in very particular circumstances if at all. Masks may have a use but they are certainly not a total fix. There are lower-hanging fruit.
Compare the United States. There is a BBC article online now about how 40,000 households a year are having their WATER cut off. That sort of behavior is far more dangerous than not using cloth masks. Forget universal healthcare debate, first agree that people have a right to water.
I think Hong Kong is mostly lucky given that people here still go to hotpot dinners, completely ignore the "no groups of more than 4 people" ban and think that getting on a crowded bus in a mask protects them from catching the virus.
Thinking of being protected by face masks is a lazy mental shortcut for "I will limit the spreading of my microbiome, if all others do the same, infection risk goes down"
Of course not, it's a novel virus, with novel transmission characteristics, there is no evidence for any of the interventions against it until someone tries them, and even then the evidence is usually inconclusive. Such is life.
There are a couple countries like the Czech Republic where face masks are mandatory in public and you can be fined if you don't have one covering your nose and mouth, so data about this should be available eventually.
We have a real-world experiment going on right now - East Asia vs. the West. The result is clear despite other variables like population density being very much in the west's favor.
> We have a real-world experiment going on right now - East Asia vs. the West.
I agree this is a very good argument.
I just wonder if it's the end of the story and if the differences we observe can only be attributed to mask wearing. For instance I don't think all Asian countries have the same policies regarding masks though. Also, there may be other factors at play, e.g. cultural and geographical elements.
