As stated, the point of mask wearing is to prevent onward transmission.

And in China, they've managed to wear masks for 7 weeks without societal collapse, and certainly much less collateral damage than having all hospitals full. But the reality is, outside of Hubei, i.e. acting EARLY, wearing masks for about 3 weeks (and the other measures: I'm not claiming masks are a panacea) actually had the biggest impact in essentially grinding transmission in low prevalence areas down to a tiny trickle.

IF MASKS WEREN'T LIMITING (which is a real issue, I acknowledge), other than ego, and a "feeling" that it's not practical, what are the downsides? It won't curb economic activity, which is your greatest concern...

tb