Face coverings can be a nuisance to wear, and, depending on the mask, they likely won’t protect you from contracting the coronavirus. But you should wear one anyway.

There’s been a lot of confusion about whether we should wear masks in public and why. At first, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended against wearing masks, and now, they’re urging citizens to wear them in public. This about-face has a simple explanation: the CDC learned more about the COVID-19 virus and how it spreads.