Why is a (simple) mask not recommended for asymptomatic COVID-19 patients?
Information about (simple) mask wearing (concerning covid19) is a complete mystery to me. On several official places it is not recommended for a person without symptoms to wear a mask. For example:
or here:
www.ucsfhealth.org/education/should-i-wear-a-mask-to-protect-against-the-coronavirus
However no explanation is given - which makes me wonder (and even angry). I think everybody should wear a mask because:
Many persons feel ashamed wearing it, even those with symptoms. If everybody wears it, they do not feel ashamed and wear it.
As far as I know, one is (wrt covid19) contagious before developing symptoms. So if everybody wears the mask also these people do.
The two above points act as a collective protection.
Simple mask certainly will lower "getting / spreading illness" probability. Of course the "holes" (in a simple mask) are too big to prevent completely virus to enter (or get out when coughing), but it lowers probability! Even if it lowers the transmission probability by e.g. 5%, it might be a lot. As a hypothetical example: it might reduce R0 from 1.02 to 0.97 and so stop the virus spread so fast.
The videos are full of self-contradiction. In the same video
Question: What are reasons for not recommending wearing a mask?
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TL;DR: please WEAR A MASK!
(unless your nearby hospitals are out of it, in which case give your masks to them and stay at home)
The link you mentioned provides the reason that the CDC likely has in mind (though I agree it doesn't identify it clearly as the reason):
The worldwide supply of masks is limited. It's critical that we use them appropriately. [i.e., prioritizing them for high-risk people].
Thought the CDC is now considering recommending general public wear face coverings in public.
{1} compiled different government guidelines on the use of mask. You'll see that some of them do recommend wearing a mask whereas others such as the UK mentions that "there is very little evidence of widespread benefit for members of the public". Some governments such as the South Korean
government even distribute free respiratory masks (2 KF94 per person per week in South Korea).
A great summary on the use of fask masks from Stanford researcher Michael Lin, PhD-MD:
Also:
Experts Increasingly Question Advice Against Widespread Use of Face Masks
Not wearing masks to protect against coronavirus is a ‘big mistake,’ top Chinese scientist says (thanks scaaahu for pointing to this article)
Wierd -2020-03-30 - It's Time to Face Facts, America: Masks Work (mirror 1) (mirror 2) (thanks scaaahu for pointing to this article) www.maskssavelives.org/ (mirror): contains a lot of details and references on why wearing masks is useful.
Can the SARS-CoV-2 virus float in the air for up to 3 hours?
Is wearing facemasks the reason South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong have more control of Covid-19
To mask or not to mask: WHO makes U-turn while US, Singapore abandon pandemic advice and tell citizens to start wearing masks www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/fuu4lo/mask_vs_no_mask/(https://www.lavision.de/en/news/2020/4302/):
References:
{1} Feng, Shuo, Chen Shen, Nan Xia, Wei Song, Mengzhen Fan, and Benjamin J. Cowling. "Rational use of face masks in the COVID-19 pandemic." The Lancet Respiratory Medicine (2020). doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30134-X
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