Lucy Dathan

As you may know, the CDC is now recommending that people wear cloth face masks based off of studies showing that wearing these masks can help reduce the spread of Coronavirus. These masks can have limited protection for the person wearing them, but they are especially effective at reducing the spread from people who have the virus but are not aware and do not have symptoms, but are still contagious.

The CDC has recommendations for how to create these face masks, with or without sewing machines. At minimum all you need is a T-shirt and scissors. Remember, it is not recommended for the general public to wear surgical masks or N-95 masks. Those masks are critical for healthcare workers, and we need to reserve that limited supply for those workers.

I also want to thank all of our local volunteers who worked so hard to sew face masks for the residents and staff members at our nursing homes, who are the most vulnerable to an outbreak. We rely on citizens like you who step up during this crisis.

I have tried a few of the CDC recommendations, and I wanted to share with you their instructions. To see the CDC recommendations directly go here www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html

If you don't have any elastics bands or coffee filters than this is the method for you!

This is the ideal version, if you have a sewing machine at hand. If you do have these materials then please consider making extras for your friends, family and neighbors.