That's not what I've been hearing experts say recently. Containing droplets is exactly what we want to be doing, and it DOES stop the virus, in one sense. It's probably the most effective way we currently have of preventing its spread. Your mask prevents most of your droplets from going airborne when you speak, cough or sneeze, protecting others, and their mask prevents their droplets from going airborne, thereby protecting you. Without masks, those droplets can travel more than 6 feet. With masks, most of the droplets don't go more than a foot or two, greatly reducing the viral load in the air.
I've seen videos of tests showing aerosolized droplets traveling as far as 12 feet and I've read that they can stay airborne for hours in some cases. I also recently read that current belief is that surface contact is probably the least common way of contracting the virus (although they don't recommend we stop using hand sanitizer or frequently washing our hands). So grocery shopping isn't as dangerous as we were originally led to believe, especially those that require people to wear masks to enter - if you can find one...
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