Should masks be worn by the public to stop the coronavirus?

Facemasks lead to a false sense of security

Question: Should masks be worn by the public to stop the coronavirus?
Position‹2 of 2: No, facemasks do not need to be worn by the public
Argument‹2 of 3›: Facemasks lead to a false sense of security

Facemasks make people feel protected meaning they are less likely to maintain social distancing

The argument

Wearing a mask while outdoors is not completely necessary. If you are outdoors, wear a mask if it is difficult to maintain the 6-foot social distancing rule from other people (such as going to the grocery store or pharmacy or walking on a busy street or in a crowded neighborhood), or if it is required to by law. But you do not need to wear a mask if you’re in your backyard or on personal property and it is very unlikely that you’ll end up within 6 feet of someone you don't know. Another small couple of examples are if you are in any other secluded location where the likelihood of running into someone else is very low, or if you are eating and/or drinking outdoors.

Premises

[P1]A mask is only genuinely needed outdoors when the six-foot distancing rule is hard to maintain — in a crowded store, on a busy street, or where the law requires it. [P2] In low-risk settings — one's own backyard or property, secluded locations where encountering others is unlikely, or while eating and drinking outdoors — the chance of coming within six feet of a stranger is very low, so a mask serves little purpose. [C] Because masks are unnecessary in these common low-risk situations, facemasks do not need to be worn by the public at all times.

Counter-arguments

Wearing a mask outside is still very essential for people's health, especially in public places. The science around masks themselves hasn't changed at all. It is the situation that has changed, and as a result, authorities are issuing much needed updated guidelines. We're in the middle of a fast-moving pandemic, and the state of the world is far different than last year. The scientific community, health agencies and healthcare providers are continuously reviewing all available data and making real-time recommendations as the situation evolves more and more. Given that there is now a high prevalence of COVID-19 in the wider community and the understanding that individuals with COVID-19 may be contagious even if they are not showing any symptoms, it now makes sense for all individuals to be wearing a face covering to help prevent the spread of droplets that might be infectious.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] The premises argue only that a mask is unnecessary in specified low-risk settings, which does not reach the position they are offered for: guidance to mask where distancing is difficult and not in an empty backyard is a case for situational mask use, not against public mask-wearing. [Rejecting P2] The low-risk cases are also narrower than they appear, since a six-foot rule is a threshold rather than a guarantee and pre-symptomatic transmission means a person cannot tell from symptoms whether an unplanned close encounter matters; and nothing here supports the separate claim in the argument's title that masks create a false sense of security, which the body never argues.