# Why was the American public told not to wear face masks?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-american-public-told-not-to-wear-face-masks/850742>\
**Category:** The Quarantine Zone\
**Tags:** covid-quarantine\
**Created:** [March 31, 2020, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-american-public-told-not-to-wear-face-masks/850742 "2020-03-31T15:06:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 17

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**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\
**Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-american-public-told-not-to-wear-face-masks/850742/17 "2020-03-31T16:59:52Z")

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I am surprised by this “all or nothing” attitude that pops up, even here.

So, a simple mask isn’t 100% effective. We know that. No false sense of security. But I don’t have an n95 respirator. And, guess what, those aren’t 100% either. It’s _all_ a range.

Something is better than nothing.

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