Home-sewn mask covers can make N95 masks last longer for healthcare workers in need

SwallowFeather

Oops I just swallowed a feather
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Hey friends.

I recently learned that besides the homemade masks a lot of people are sewing (and which the CDC is apparently ambivalent about) it's possible to sew far more useful mask covers that can go over the professionally made, effective N95 mask and extend its life. Mask covers can be washed & sanitized between uses.

I got the template from Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, which is doing a mask cover donation drive.

Easy-to-use template & instructions

One-page version for the more experienced

If you want to make mask covers for hospitals in your area, it's best to inquire first whether they'd accept them. Explain the mask cover's use, send them a picture (there's one included in the instructions) maybe refer them to Grady Memorial. My group is actually sending samples to a few hospitals.

This is also a wonderful project for lifting the spirits of people stuck in isolation with nothing to do but worry--all the more so b/c it's truly helpful and needed and thus genuinely meaningful. One person living with me, who's been struggling, has communicated she's much happier since taking the project on.
 

frimble3

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Mask covers sound like a brilliant idea, if the hospitals/CDC are cool with the idea. Extending the life of masks could probably do a lot, especially for those hospitals that are rationing the number of masks a nurse can use per shift. And, if a hospital has a lot of covers, they could divide them up by department/area - warms for nearest the COVID patients, cools for 'general' duties, or so forth.