It's back to the old adage about their being no correlation between intelligence and common sense.
These supposedly intelligent people at the WHO are idiots.
1. The main benefit of the public wearing masks, is to stop infectious people from spreading it, not explicitly to protect uninfected people (although that is the consequence of course)
2. It is a ludicrous suggestion that despite potential misuse of a mask by an untrained public, that they could be at *more* risk than were they not wearing one in the first place. So what if they fiddle with the mask with infected hands. Is this "best practice"? No. But at least they are not touching their eyes, nose or mouth.
3. It is a ludicrous suggestion (that I just heard on the TV) that simply wearing a mask will mean people abandoning hand washing and other precautions.
4. Look at the infection rate and deaths in countries where mask-wearing in public is the norm Vs where it is not. QE fucking D.