On April 3, the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially recommended that people venturing out into group settings, like grocery stores or public transit, begin wearing a cloth mask or face covering while continuing to practice physical distancing.
This has led many to wonder about the potential benefits of wearing a mask and where to get one. Here are some common questions and the best answers currently available:
Can a mask protect the wearer from contracting COVID-19?
Cloth masks are not the same as the protective gear worn by medical professionals and don’t offer the same kind of strong protection against catching the virus if the wearer comes into contact with someone who is infected. Where they can be most helpful is in preventing the wearer from spreading the disease themselves. This may be most important for those who aren’t yet showing symptoms associated with COVID-19 and may be wrongly presumed to be healthy.
During an April 6 press briefing, Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah clarified that cloth masks act as barriers, helping to prevent the droplets of an infected person’s breath or cough from reaching another person.
“They are not necessarily designed to protect you,” he said. “What they are designed to do is to protect other people from you.”
Should people follow physical distancing rules while wearing a mask?
Yes. Dr. Shah has also emphasized that masks should not replace physical distancing practices.
Masks are “another layer of the onion that we can rely on,” he said.
This means that, when wearing a mask, a person should still follow the state of Maine’s stay-at-home order and the CDC’s physical distancing recommendations: On the rare occasions that someone may need to leave their home and be in public places, they should stay at least six feet away from other people, not gather in groups and avoid crowds.
Where can Mainers buy a mask?
Cloth masks can be purchased from online retailers, like Amazon, or at a grocery store such as Hannaford, although commercial availability may be limited.
Some members of online groups, like the Maine Coronavirus Community Assistance Facebook, are sewing masks for community members that may be free or cost less than purchasing a mask from an online retailer.
Can a mask be made at home?
Yes. There are a variety of patterns available online for free for those with access to sewing machines. Many common household materials can also be modified to act as masks, including pillowcases, old t-shirts, bandanas, pieces of cotton fabric, and vacuum bags.
The CDC has posted instructions for how to make a mask at home with and without the use of a sewing machine, including this simple design using t-shirt material:
Top photo: An example of a home-made face mask. | Cara DeRose
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