Masks do not prevent the transmission of the disease, despite what the legacy institutions say. Objectively the person without the mask did not pose a threat to the mob. However there is something to be said about the fact that one cannot expect people to be omniscient; they trusted these institutions for information because they can't be bothered to research or think for themselves. Because of their ignorance and the ongoing perceived threat, they felt the need to enforce a measure that they thought would protect them.
This is where I would get into political philosophy. The first point I make here is that politics, in its correct form is an application of ethics. This is the legislative function. The executive branch, such as the police, exist to enforce the law. There are situations where I have observed police professionally enforcing the law as it is written, however the law is not ethical in the objective sense; it was not a policing problem but a legislative one.
As far as taxation; this is a good point to bring up. The government in its proper form protects individual rights. That requires a police force, military, courts, etc. This is not cheap. To collect taxes by force is a violation of individual rights. The solution that is often proposed is levying indirect taxes, such as tariffs and sales taxes. Will that be enough? I would hope so.
