The same gear recommendation applies for doctors, nurses and healthcare support staff who enter the room of a COVID-19 patient, medical transport workers and mortuary workers, the CDC says. But with the shortage of N95 masks, which filter air as it goes in and as it goes out, the CDC advises giving N95s only to workers who perform tasks that carry the most risk of aerosolizing the virus and providing less-protective surgical masks to people who do other jobs.