The CDC is said to be considering asking people to cover their face in public — but would reserve masks for medical workersThe only reason they're hedging and debating is because there is a shortage of masks. That and changing their position makes them look bad/unreliable.
As I said over and over, masks are effective, everyone should be wearing a face mask in public. And medical professionals were providing bad advice, lying to you and caviling because there was a mask shortage.
I think I've said it before but I've tried 3 different types of mask now and they all fit well and it's hard to figure out how someone could actually wear them improperly. Unsurprisingly, surgical masks are well made, one-size-fits-all with their folds and offer very good protection (keeping germs both in and out). The ones my friend gave me really fit snugly on the sides with no gaps. Cough or breathe hard and it expands the mask and nothing noticeable escapes the sides (though probably small amounts do, but not forward for sure).
All the lockdowns and restrictive measures in place now should have been put in place circa March 1, when things were going viral slowly. Hard to stress enough the stupidity of waiting until there are large outbreaks before you start isolating and distancing and such. Time is important. With the right policies in place weeks if not a month earlier, the US could have come through this with minimal cases (and gotten the life and the economy back to normal by May 1. If the US Gov't and states got serious about it early. The Italian outbreak should have been a huge wake up call and started implementation of serious measures in the US. It was pretty obvious the US was going to get hit from two directions -- Asia and Europe.
Travel bans, temp checks, face masks, social distancing, voluntary lockdowns. All should have commenced on or before March 1. Some states just grudgingly going into safe mode for April's Fools. Embarrassing.