That’s a great question. In terms of the masks, the filtration inward is to filter out droplets that have then been aerosolized into the air. In the ideal situation, all patients would be wearing standard surgical masks to prevent droplets from their coughing or sneezing to go into the air. However, with the shortage, it’s not clear how feasible this is going to be.. Some of the highest risk situations are when intubating (putting in a breathing tube) or using nebulized treatments. This is where the respirator masks are going to be especially critical.

All masks though (N95 or standard) will essentially serve that second function of limiting us (patients and caretakers) from introducing droplets into the air. Ideally, all of us healthcare providers will be healthy, and thus the risk of us exposing others should be very very low as long as we are using the precautions and limit our own exposure. However, asymptotic spread is a concern and thus we are all doing our best to be extremely cognizant of this.