How to Make our own Cloth Mask & How to Wear it Properly to Protect Ourselves from #COVID19

Photo by visuals on Unsplash

CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) now knows from recent studies that a significant portion of individuals who don't have any Covid 19 symptoms (“asymptomatic”) and that even those who eventually develop symptoms (“pre-symptomatic”) can transmit the virus to others before showing symptoms.  This means that the virus can spread between people interacting in close proximity—for example, speaking, coughing, or sneezing—even if those people are not showing symptoms.  In light of this new evidence, CDC now  recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings (like supermarkets, grocery stores, drugstores, and palengke)  where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, especially in areas of significant community-based transmission.

In the Philippines, everybody is now mandated by the government to wear a mask or any facial protective gear.  "Kung kailangan po nating lumabas ng bahay, kailangan po mag mask. Kahit improvised ito o panyo, basta po may pangtakip tayo ng bibig at ilong," Nograles said in a televised press briefing (source) last Thursday.

But let's leave the surgical masks, and N95 masks to those who need them the most, our health care workers.  So, let's make out own!


Watch how Bobby Bandito (Matthew McConaughey) makes his own face mask!

Here are instructions from CDC on how to make your own face mask or face covering:

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Here's the right way to wear a cloth mask:

Consumer Reports suggested that the mask should be made of multiple layers of fabric, have loops or ties to secure it, should fit snugly but comfortably.  Don't forget also to wash or launder our cloth mask after every use.