COVID-19 Update: Masks4All

Hi Everyone.

I know we were told that face masks will not protect us from the coronavirus. And I also know there's a shortage of N-95 masks. That shortage puts health care workers at risk, so if you have a supply of N-95 masks, it's imperative you turn those in to a local hospital such as UW Health.

If you know someone who is a frontline health care worker, like a doctor or nurse, you can turn your PPE over to them as well. These heroes are risking their lives to save ours.

However, there's evidence that we should all be wearing masks.

Please take a moment to watch this short video about the efficacy of masks, even homemade masks, and why we should ALL be wearing them when we go outside.

How to Significantly Slow Coronavirus? (featuring Minister of Health of the Czech Rep.)

Wearing a mask can prevent the spread of the virus in two ways.

First, it will help prevent those who have the virus from spreading it. It's true that if you have been sheltering in place for two weeks and are showing no symptoms, it's unlikely you are infected. But it's also true that one may have the virus and be asymptomatic for a couple of days and therefore be capable of shedding the virus unaware. So if we were all to wear a mask, we would severely limit the spread of the virus.

The second reason is to keep you from touching your face. Stringent hand hygiene and not touching your face, combined with social distancing, are the basics.  If you do these three things, it's very unlikely you will get the virus. 

For example, I went to Whole Foods this morning, during the early senior shopper hour. I wore a bandana over my face. I used a sanitary wipe to clean the cart handle before starting. I maintained six feet of distance, even at the checkout line.  I completed my shopping without touching my face once. Upon returning home, I put my groceries away, first wiping down the containers.

Here's a second video I encourage you to watch. This one is longer, nearly an hour, but it's by a frontline doctor in NYC. 

"NYC FRONT LINES DOCTOR EXPLAINS HOW EASY IT IS TO NOT GET INFECTED AND STOP THE SPREAD OF COVID-19"

This doctor is less adamant about wiping down food containers than he is about the basics of hand hygiene and not touching your face. He, too, encourages us to wear masks whenever we go outside.

Those of you who were eager to sew masks for health care workers, might want to start sewing them for your friends and family.  But even a scarf or bandana will do in terms of limiting the spread of droplets and keeping you from touching your face.

We are in this for the long haul. Let's normalize the wearing of masks and add that to our arsenal for defeating the virus.

Be safe. Be well. Be kind.

With love,

Tag