Here "face mask" means the common surgical face mask ubiquitous in operating rooms,
and "respirator" does not refer to anything like a gas mask,
but in fact the humble masks "meeting FFP2/3 standards in the UK or N95 in the US".
In other words,
the kinds of masks that everyone wanting to protect themselves and others from COVID transmission have been wearing for six years now.
Here in Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S.A., I NEVER see people out and about wearing masks (perhaps 1% of people overall at most; very rare) using anything but the cloth/surgical masks seen in operating rooms. Same with sporting events on TV: the rare person in the crowd wearing a mask always has a surgical-type mask.
Here "face mask" means the common surgical face mask ubiquitous in operating rooms, and "respirator" does not refer to anything like a gas mask, but in fact the humble masks "meeting FFP2/3 standards in the UK or N95 in the US".
In other words, the kinds of masks that everyone wanting to protect themselves and others from COVID transmission have been wearing for six years now.
Here in Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S.A., I NEVER see people out and about wearing masks (perhaps 1% of people overall at most; very rare) using anything but the cloth/surgical masks seen in operating rooms. Same with sporting events on TV: the rare person in the crowd wearing a mask always has a surgical-type mask.