Let’s be honest about masks. All they do is protect you from a sneeze or a cough at best, but that’s not enough for a virus that is 1000x smaller than the tightest weave of a standard mask.
Everyone would need a full Bio suit or whatever virologists wear to enter a lab of deadly contagions and even then they decontaminate afterwards and things still escape labs…
So masks were something to do for the fearful. Some felt more secure and safe. It also was a great test to see how compliant the masses would be. Mask sales also made some companies very wealthy.
DD