The Science we're meant to Follow is nothing but an arbitrary construct of policymakers, advisorial charlatans and journalists, which is why it always fails and we're never allowed to talk about it

Behold this 2003 Sydney Morning Herald article. It’s a relic from another age:

Farce mask: it’s safe for only 20 minutes

Retailers who cash in on community fears about SARS by exaggerating the health benefits of surgical masks could face fines of up to $110,000.

NSW Fair Trading Minister Reba Meagher yesterday warned that distributors and traders could be prosecuted if it was suggested the masks offered unrealistic levels of protection from the disease. …

Health authorities have warned that surgical masks may not be an effective protection against the virus.

“Those masks are only effective so long as they are dry,” said Professor Yvonne Cossart of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the University of Sydney.

“As soon as they become saturated with the moisture in your breath they stop doing their job and pass on the droplets.”

Professor Cossart said that could take as little as 15 or 20 minutes, after which the mask would need to be changed. But those warnings haven’t stopped people snapping up the masks, with retailers reporting they are having trouble keeping up with demand.

John Bell from the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, who owns a pharmacy in Woollahra, Sydney, said mask supplies were running low. …

“I think they’re of marginal benefit,” he said. “In a way they give some comfort to people who think they're doing as much as they can do to prevent the infection.” …