As of Friday afternoon, April 4, the CDC has officially begun recommending more widespread mask-wearing, including by people who don’t show any symptoms of COVID-19. Specifically, the CDC “recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies) especially in areas of significant community-based transmission.”
The CDC guidelines are aimed at reducing transmission of COVID-19 from people who are infected but not yet showing symptoms; there is still not sufficient evidence to show that wearing a mask reduces the wearer’s likelihood of catching COVID-19.