I can't believe that you could be this misinformed to make that statement. Why is it that N95 masks are recognized as effective if your statement was accurate? How could you not know smaller virus particles normally attach themselves to larger respiratory aerosolized droplets which are trapped by the mask. Also, small virus droplets can still be trapped by multiple layers of mask fibers that are electrostatically charged. Science!!!!
1) N95 masks properly fitted do have appreciable effectiveness in reducing aerosolized virus. That is not under debate.
2) Over 99% of larger aerosolized droplets settle on surfaces (are you aware of the concept of gravity) in less than a minute. Stopping those with a mask is only going to impact extremely close distance exposure and extremely short duration. Almost all viral transmission is not from such a close proximity and short duration exposure. That does not overwhelm the innate immune response. The cloth mask only protects against virus particles attached to larger aerosolized particles that would fall to a surface in seconds within a few feet of the wearer. This is not an appreciable source of transmissions.
3) Particles 10 micrometers or less (aerosolized covid not attached to larger droplets) remain suspended in the air (due to their relatively light weight) for minutes to hours. The buildup of this suspended aerosolized covid not attached to large droplets and therefore not appreciably stopped by masks with thread spacing about 200 micrometers in diameter (20 times the size of covid virus) over time increases the density of suspended viral load in an enclosed space.
4) Increasing the exchange of suspended virus with air outside the enclosed space decreases a person's effective dose of covid virus (viral density times duration of exposure). So increased ventilation appreciably reduces chances of enough virus to overcome innate response and initiate infection.
5) Reducing the number of infectious persons in the enclosed space and/or the duration they were in the enclosed space reduces suspended viral density in the air and therefore appreciably reduces infection of others in that enclosed space.
6) Reducing the exposure duration appreciably reduces the effective dose of virus thus reducing infection probability.
7) Wearing a fitted N95 mask appreciably reduces the probability of infection because it has a tested 95% efficiency of collection against particles with a median diameter of 75 nanometers which is close to the covid virus diameter.
8) Wearing an unfitted, probably not washed for months, cloth mask is NOT APPRECIABLY reducing infection probability (see points 2 and 3 above). Plus half the people wearing these aren't covering their nose or have significant macro sized gaps in fitting at the nose and near the sides of the mouth. So as worn, the unfitted cloth masks aren't even collecting that much of the covid particles that are attached to larger aerosolized particles.
I was a laboratory program director at a major university. You aren't going to stump me with your cursory level understanding of the science.