If no one else is wearing a mask, should you?
Masking mandates are being revoked as COVID-19 cases drop. Experts explain why we still need to keep masks close at hand.
Once Hawaii drops its mask mandate later this week, no state in the United States will require everyone to wear a mask indoors to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Yet in many supermarkets, office buildings, movie theaters, and other indoor locations, some people are still masking up. But if only half, or a few, or nobody else is doing so, does the mask offer the wearer sufficient protection?
The question is becoming more urgent because even though rates of COVID-19 in most of the U.S. are currently low, they are rising in Europe—due to the fast-spreading variant Omicron BA.2—which has often presaged a spike here.
“It’s true that masks are most effective when everyone around you is wearing them. If
