Both statements are right: * Masks suppress the spread and inhaling of virions (virus particles) * Masks don't stop the virus The pro-maskers cite aerosol studies: Instead of, for example, 1 billion virions, there are only 1 million virions in a room with mask-wearers - a dramatic improvement. And instead of inhaling a 10,000 virions per minute, a mask-wearer only inhales 100 virions per minute. The only problem for the mask-wearer is that 10 virions are enough to get sick. This is shown by a study that looked at super spreader events: People got sick if they were near the spreader or if they were far away, it just doesn't matter how many virions get inhaled.