As the pandemic has persisted, social media posts have questioned the effectiveness of some masks to stop coronavirus because of their inability to stop the transmission of larger particles.

Fact check: What's true and what's false about face masks.

“Wear cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, such as grocery stores, pharmacies, and gas stations.

“Many people argue that cloth masks can’t be effective because they can’t filter out viral particles, which are extremely tiny,” she said.

Surgical and cloth masks do not protect the wearer from COVID-19 particles as well as medical N95s.

But the CDC does note, “A cloth face covering may not protect the wearer, but it may keep the wearer from spreading the virus to others.” By wearing a cloth covering in public, the spread of the virus can be slowed by lessening the transmission to others.

Fact check: Masks are effective against COVID-19; OSHA doesn't say they offer no protection.

“We conclude that wearing of face masks in public corresponds to the most effective means to prevent interhuman transmission, and this inexpensive practice, in conjunction with extensive testing, quarantine, and contact tracking, poses the most probable fighting opportunity to stop the COVID-19 pandemic, prior to the development of a vaccine,” the scientists wrote.

“The study provides evidence that US states mandating the use of face masks in public had a greater decline in daily COVID-19 growth rates after issuing these mandates compared with states that did not issue mandates,” researchers wrote

"Because mask wearing by infected people can reduce transmission risk, and because of the high proportion of asymptomatic infected individuals and transmissions, there appears to be a strong case for the effectiveness of widespread use of face masks in reducing the spread of COVID-19

Fact check: Ear loop masks, homemade cloth masks, offer protection against COVID-19

While not all masks are 100% effective in stopping transmission of coronavirus droplets, studies show masks have been beneficial in slowing the spread of disease and have had a greater effect when comparing areas with and without mandates