[user104658]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

I remember thinking when wearing a mask and passing a random lady and immediately being able to smell her perfume that they aint stopping a virus lol

When the mask mandate first came in they still weren't sure if it was airborne or more likely to be spread by droplets.

Also... Still being able to smell smells is really not how it works at all. For example, HEPA air filtration -does-effectively remove virus particles (including Covid) from air but will do nothing to remove smell. Airborne Virus particles are MUCH bigger than "smell particles" and sense of smell is ridiculously sensitive (even for humans) so only a tiny number of molecules need to get through for you to smell something. You need to get a decent "dose" of a virus to catch it. You can actually breathe in a fair amount of Covid virus particles without getting Covid unless you have a compromised immune system.

Masks are definitely effective against tonnes of airborne viruses if worn properly, it just took them a while to discover that they're not with Covid. Different viruses are different "sizes".

Also... Most people don't wear masks properly and they're not properly fitted. If there are gaps at the sides or around the nose then it's obviously pretty pointless... And from what I remember, most peoples were barely on their face .