The CDC is poised to tell everyone to wear a cloth mask in public. Here’s why. A little over a month ago, after the first community-spread cases of COVID-19 were reported near Seattle, U.S. surgeon general Jerome Adams tweeted a message to the American public: “Seriously people- STOP BUYING MASKS! They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if healthcare providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!” The standard advice of the WHO and the CDC was the same—people shouldn’t be wearing masks unless they were already infected with the coronavirus or caring for someone with the disease.