// If wearing a mask stops other people coughing and sneezing over me then yes I want them to wear a mask and for the same reasons I will continue to wear one.//
This is often quoted during debates on face coverings. So let me ask you, Lady J, Just how many people do you get coughing and sneezing over you during, say, a normal month? I must say that during my lifetime I cannot recall anybody ever coughing and sneezing over me outside of home and much of my life has been spent travelling and commuting regularly on trains, buses and underground systems. The only time I can recall it was when my young sister was very young and she would do so occasionally if I was near her.
//If masks don't work why do surgeons wear them?//
Masks work if they are made of the right material and are worn and used correctly. Surgeons wear medical grade masks; other people were specifically asked not to try to buy them and many of the masks on sale are single pieces of cloth. Surgeons are trained in their use, how to put them on and take them off without the danger of self-contamination, how long to use them for, what to do with them when they are not in use and how to dispose of them; other people, if they bother at all, pick up a few snippets from “The Sun” or “The Daily Telegraph”. Surgeons are disciplined in their use and adhere to all the guidance above; others are not. They wear them round their chin, they stuff them in their pockets when they get off the bus, they constantly pull them up and down with their (possibly) contaminated hands. So apart from masks and other face coverings used by other people probably being of little use, any benefits they may provide are outweighed by the strong likelihood of the user contaminating himself.