A surgical mask is not perfect or guaranteed protection, but it can reduce exposure by about 50%. A surgical mask thus isn’t supposed to allow a “return to normal” so much as a measure of protection for when you have to go out. If you’re not vaccinated or otherwise at increased risk you should still be avoiding going out when you don’t need to, and when you do have to go out you wear a mask and avoid close quarters indoors. Basically, wearing a mask is not an excuse to ignore COVID or engage in otherwise risky behavior.
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspec ... xperts-say