Which is the direction we should be going, anyway. High risk people who cannot get vaccinated should wear an N95.
Edit: As numerous people have pointed out, this is wrong. All the N95 masks I’ve seen had a valve, but apparently this is uncommon. TIL.
Only if they have a valve. Masks with valves are usually considered inappropriate for covid.
All valveless masks, including N95, surgical and cloth masks protect both ways, there is no difference between the front and the back of the filtering material. Some masks are better than others, but none are one-way unless there is a one-way valve.
That's also a reason why they recommend N95 and not N99. Most N99 masks have valves (can be uncomfortable without them) and are therefore inappropriate. These are mostly to protect construction workers from harmful dust.
But, in any case, its consistent with my point that, supposedly, there are benefits to cloth masks, even if they don't fit tightly around the face. That's not to say it wouldn't be better if everyone wore an N95/KN95/etc.--especially people who are at high risk.
Absolutely not? How would that even work. A well-fitting half-face mask has virtually no leakage when breathing in or out.