UPDATE 4/2: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to recommend that all Americans going out into public should now wear cloth masks, according to The New York Times. N95 masks should still be reserved for those in the healthcare community, but others should start wearing cloth masks when going into public spaces, like grocery stores.

In the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, the conventional wisdom surrounding face masks was that they weren’t meant for the general public. Healthcare workers, those infected with the virus, and maybe those ringing up or delivering groceries and other goods needed masks. But that was it. For everyone else, the thinking went, a mask was a valuable resource we shouldn’t waste on the healthy. Plus, using one could actually put you in greater peril: removing it the wrong way could introduce the virus to the most vulnerable spots.

Still, widespread panic-purchasing of masks has led to a dearth of them in the U.S. Scores of fashion companies—from Brooks Brothers to Hertling—have tried to step up to do what they can to chip in. (The difficulty of making medical-grade masks says something else entirely about America’s deteriorating manufacturing capabilities.) However, as our understanding of coronavirus evolves, so does experts’ thinking on the use of even non-medical grade masks. And now, there is a growing contingent of experts that believe widespread adoption of masks can actually help deter the spread of the virus. The new information raises all sorts of new questions: what are the best options for the general public using makeshift masks? Can I make my own at home? What is the safest way to wear, and remove, one? And, most pressingly: do I really need to be wearing a mask right now?

So, should I wear a mask?

The short answer: yes, you should. “Because the virus can be spread by speech droplets, it makes sense for everyone—if they must go out—to cover their mouths to avoid spreading the virus even if they are feeling well,” says Dr. Anne Rimoin, professor of epidemiology and Director of the Center for Global and Immigrant Health at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. But it’s a little more complicated than that. The official guidance from the CDC still recommends that medical-grade masks like the N95—which are tight fitting and use a woven fabric that protects the wearer from even the smallest droplets in the air—should be reserved for healthcare workers and those infected. The second is that your mask should in no way replace social distancing or proper hand hygiene.

“You have to keep social distancing. You have to keep washing your hands,” says Dr. William Schaffner, professor of Preventive Medicine and Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “It is not a time for you to gather three friends together and play a game of poker or bridge even though you're all wearing respiratory protection.”

As long as you’re keeping your distance, wearing a mask provides what Dr. Schaffner calls a “modest benefit.” One benefit is that many of those infected with coronavirus are asymptomatic. Because the coronavirus is most commonly spread through an infected person emitting droplets from their nose or mouth, coughs and sneezes become vectors of disease—but talking and breathing can spread droplets, too. The most effective masks catch even the smallest droplets before they spread out into the air, onto others, and/or surfaces. But even masks without a medical pedigree can catch at least some of the virus-carrying molecules. (Although not every expert is in agreement with that, which is a result of constantly changing and evolving information.)

Hang on—weren't some experts saying that I shouldn't wear a mask?

When I spoke to Dr. Ashish K. Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, in early March, he said wearing items like masks and hazmat suits are paradoxically risky: they can make people feel invincible, and therefore careless. He also noted that one of the most effective ways to prevent coronavirus transmission is to not touch your face. Putting a mask on requires you to do the opposite. These were the initial fears in the medical community about the widespread use of masks.