If that were the way the virus spread, pre/asymptomatic transmission wouldn't be noticeable. There's lots of debate about whether that's really how respiratory

If that were the way the virus spread, pre/asymptomatic transmission wouldn't be noticeable. There's lots of debate about whether that's really how respiratory viruses spread, but more importantly, we know it can't be that simple because we can see the effect mask mandates had on case curves (there wasn't any). So however they're theorized to work, real world data disagrees. There can be lots of reasons for this that aren't even related to mask material, e.g. most transmission occurs in homes, care homes and hospitals, all places where you'd expect most transmission to take place because people have to be confined in a small space with other sick people for long periods, and also places where you can't make people wear masks all the time.