I wear an N95 when I go out. Commuting to work, or just grocery shopping.
On my own free will too. Not because of some media or government agency's "advice", but because of logic and scientific facts. I have actually started wearing one for all outdoor excursions since "Patient Zero" in the tri-state region had been "announced". Once again... masturbation hand motion.gif... That shit has already spread widely here when the "first" case had been publicized. Almost the entire Asian community here started wearing masks en masse since the first reports of the Wuhan outbreak reached here.
N95's DO provide solid and proven protection against a variety of airborne particulate nasties when they are used PROPERLY. And over here in the great melting pot that is New York City, "social distancing" means different things to different people. That is to say, that the range of people actually practicing healthy and logical social distancing procedures in the stores, on the streets, or in the subways are about 30% to 0%. Hence why I wear the mask. Yes, COVID-19 produces "mild" cases in about 97% of the infected and yes, most of these "mild" case eventually recover on their own without advanced and invasive treatments needed. However, a "mild" case of COVID is still a fucking brutal and overwhelming affair. Even those who fully recover without long term complications have gotten the living daylights beaten out of them by this thing. I do NOT want to catch it and I certainly do NOT want to bring that shit into my home.
So what does it mean to wear a N95, or surgical mask PROPERLY?
You put the upper rubber band over the top of your ears just like eyeglasses, and the lower rubber band on your neck right below the base of your skull to ensure that even pressure is being exerted by these rubber bands to keep the cup of the mask flush against the skin of your face.
When you take it off, you grip the VERY OUTER EDGES of the rim of the mask on both sides, and lift the thing over your face and head until the rubber bands clear your head. DO NOT touch the front of the mask and then touch your face or another object. If there are viral particles trapped or clinging to the outer surface of the mask cup, you WILL contaminate anything you touched after you touch this part. And just as importantly, you do NOT let the front part of that mask touch anything as you are putting it on or taking it off, including your face. Taking a lunch break at work, and you are taking your mask off for half an hour to eat? Put a clean napkin on the table or chair next to you and rest the mask on the napkin, FRONT SIDE UP. Done with your break and putting the mask back on? Hold the rubber bands, bow your head, and fit the bands over your head while keeping the mask's outer side AWAY from you. The mask should be over the top of your head as you are fitting the straps. Once the bands are over your head, slide the mask over your face until you get the snug fit that you are looking for.
For any reason, are you reusing the mask for a few shifts or a couple of days? N95's are technically supposed to be disposable, and discarded after one use. However, this is a hectic time in our society. Shit happens, supply chains and retail chains get overwhelmed, therefore some people just do not have the luxury of changing out a clean mask every time they venture out. In this case, N95's will be perfectly useable for a few times, proven that care is taken to:
A: Avoid contamination of your body or another object by the potentially soiled outer side of the mask. Refer to the passage two "paragraphs" up from this sentence to know how to avoid contaminating yourself or other things when putting the mask on, storing it, or taking it off.
B: The structural integrity of the mask itself does not deteriorate and cease to provide you adequate protection.
DO. NOT. EVER. try to sanitize the front of the mask using alcohol or ANY other chemical solvent. Experiments have been done showing what alcohol and other solvents can do to the highly intricate and fragile fibers that are tightly woven into the mask that can filter out particles that are as small as 0.03 microns. Solvents will cause these fibers to break and split, weakening the integrity of the mask and causing multiple holes to open up in the material that you cannot see, but is more than enough for dangers to slip through. You do NOT want that to happen. Only very, very recently, well into the COVID-19 pandemic, have technology been developed that allow for the disinfection of face masks via a UV light source under CONTROLLED settings inside a metal box. For those of us who do not have access to this technology, the best way to "disinfect" a face mask is simply hang it in a location that allows for ample airflow and breezes. Dry and moving air does not kill viruses on contact, but over a period of time, it will neutralize a good portion of infectious agents present on the material.
One more thing regarding surgical masks... Right now, as the market for items like masks are just barely starting to recover and some retailers beginning to see backorders being filled, surgical masks are the first thing to become readily available again. Are these the same grade as N95's? Absolutely not. HOWEVER, a surgical mask is still capable of providing the wearer up to 60% of filtration of airborne infectious agents. 60% is still an awful lot compared to the less than 40% that homemade cotton shirt masks provide, or the 0% from not wearing a mask at all. If you want to increase the efficiency of a surgical mask, DOUBLE or TRIPLE them. Using a hot glue gun, apply a few dabs on the EDGES of the masks and press them together. They will not offer up to 99% filtration that a properly fitted N95 will provide, but doubled or tripled surgical masks will still be a potent protection tool, possibly even up to 90% filtration, once again if worn PROPERLY and proper care is taken to prevent contamination.