Making or sewing masks as do-it-yourself protection against COVID-19 has sewers, crafters and creatives stitching, pinning and doing their part to help themselves and others protect against the disease. But how well do they work? Better than nothing, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now says cloth face coverings will provide some protection in addition to physical distancing measures, handwashing and other techniques employed to slow the spread of the coronavirus that is causing this pandemic.
On its website, the CDC recommends “wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission.”
It says the use of simple cloth face coverings slows the spread of the virus and it helps people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others. “Cloth face coverings fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost can be used as an additional, voluntary public health measure,” the CDC states.
One word of caution, however. The CDC says cloth face coverings should not be placed on young children under age 2, on anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.
CDC.gov has instructions on how to sew a mask, and make two no-sew masks, including one made by cutting up a t-shirt. They are found at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html.
