It is common to not comprehend the role of a face mask. In the cropped picture below of China Correspondent Bill Birtles and camera operator Brant Cummings depicted in quarantine in Beijing on 8 Mar 2020 after reporting on the COVID-19 coronavirus in South Korea.
While masks appear to be P2 (the one on the left appears to be 3M brand and trustworthy), they have an exhaust valve. While this is fine if you are protecting yourself, they are totally the wrong mask if you as suspected of having the COVID-19 virus. The role of the mask has been swapped in quarantine and the wearer should be trying to protect others.
Masks with exhaust valves are far more comfortable to wear over an extended period, as the warm, humid exhaled air goes through the valve rather than the filter fabric. A more appropriate choice for the period of quarantine would have been a certified P2/N95 mask without the exhaust valve. That would have given mutual protection to the two, plus others in quarantine.
