>> “The larger particles are heavier and hit the ground in 3-10 feet.” <<
Well, that upper range is a pretty big distance. I walk within a few feet of people in the grocery store often, and in the checkout line am usually at no more just a few feet away from the cashier.
As for the small droplets that get through a mask, apparently there weren’t enough of them for me to feel a gust of air a couple of feet away when I did a test cough with a mouth covering. If that test doesn’t matter, and if virus particles don’t need to be propelled, but can merely slip through and float in the air for a long time, then it seems to me that not just masks but social distancing too won’t be of much help (that is, if such quantities are enough to cause the disease).
Until I see good evidence of that, though, I’m going to assume that masks and distancing significantly reduce the chances of getting sick.
“I walk within a few feet of people in the grocery store often”
There is virtually no transmission risk from walking past someone for a few seconds. It requires sustained interaction, 10-30 minutes to create a measurable risk of transmission. You are in NO DANGER walking past someone for 5 seconds.
“As for the small droplets that get through a mask, apparently there weren’t enough of them for me to feel a gust of air a couple of feet away when I did a test cough with a mouth covering.”
The small droplets WILL go thru a mask just by breathing. And if your mask is not sealed to your face, then ALL of the infected air gets out anyways. Happily, the small droplets don’t seem enough to cause infection UNLESS you have sustained contact with the infected person in an enclosed space - such as a bus, subway, etc.
The truth is the aerosol sized drops DO get out and DO stay airborne for long periods of time. If we had to avoid those to stay safe, we couldn’t. It would require us all to become hermits.
The infection is transmitted by coughs & sneezes, and by stuff coming to rest on objects that are handled. If the hands then touch the eyes or nose without washing, you get transmission.
Thus the emphasis needs to be: Keep a polite distance when possible (maybe as little as 3 feet), people with even slight symptoms need to be sent home, wash your hands frequently...and get on with life. The magic talisman of “MASKS” is voodoo science, meant to make people feel good even though it is doing nothing. And because they believe in masks, they skip the stuff that IS important, like hand washing.
But by all means, do what you believe will work. Just don’t tell me I need to wear a mask when I don’t have any symptoms, when I always maintain a polite distance (by Arizona standards) and don’t go to small enclosed spaces with lots of people close by me (buses, movie theaters, bars).