I do not follow the reasoning here. A chart that shows that mask and unmasked populations are affected similarly shows nothing unless everything else is equal. People on this site have repeatedly attempted to distort by posting charts like this - they show a chart that shows that infections stayed the same, or even went up, after mask-wearing was initiated.
why didn't medical masks work in Chile ?
This is an attempt to dupe the unsophisticated reader who does not understand that all sorts of other factors can cause infections to increase even if masks are acting to lessen the degree of increase.
confession through projection
cloth masks don't work 3% effective , virus goes right through them .
medical mask 56% effective , which is ineffective when used by the general population
A cluster randomised trial of cloth masks compared with medical masks in healthcare workers | BMJ Open
Results The rates of all infection outcomes were highest in the cloth mask arm, with the rate of ILI statistically significantly higher in the cloth mask arm (relative risk (RR)=13.00, 95% CI 1.69 to 100.07) compared with the medical mask arm. Cloth masks also had significantly higher rates of ILI compared with the control arm. An analysis by mask use showed ILI (RR=6.64, 95% CI 1.45 to 28.65) and laboratory-confirmed virus (RR=1.72, 95% CI 1.01 to 2.94) were significantly higher in the cloth masks group compared with the medical masks group. Penetration of cloth masks by particles was almost 97% and medical masks 44%.
Conclusions This study is the first RCT of cloth masks, and the results caution against the use of cloth masks. This is an important finding to inform occupational health and safety. Moisture retention, reuse of cloth masks and poor filtration may result in increased risk of infection. Further research is needed to inform the widespread use of cloth masks globally. However, as a precautionary measure, cloth masks should not be recommended for HCWs, particularly in high-risk situations, and guidelines need to be updated.