Corona Masks - Infection Submission-Signaling?

Ironically, as coronavirus deaths continue to decline in the US and as more states are “opening up,“ there appears to be an increase in mask wearing. Are the face masks going to prevent the spread of the virus? Will they protect people from the virus? Or may they actually cause harm to some people? : are they a new form of “virtue signaling,“ a show of submission to the “authorities“? Plenty of prominent MDs - including Fauci not long ago - have condemned the mass masking of America. Are they right