In early 2020 it was still a common opinion that SARS-CoV2 mainly spread through droplets, in that case surgical masks would have been sufficient to offer the wearer some protection. However by late Spring/early Summer (northern hemisphere) it became apparent that it was airborne which is why all medical personal switched to FFP2 masks (long before the CDC and the WHO officially recognized it as being airborne). Confusion only arose because many actors were reluctant in accepting airborne transmission and thus kept recommending the wrong type of mask for personal protection. But nowadays there’s no doubt about airborne transmission and you can get good quality FFP2 masks for around 2$ and studies show that even exercising with them is not a problem.