This is a copy of the email I sent to the 25 or so residents of the senior facility who live on my street. We have been gathering in the afternoon to socialize. Finally after some email nudging by me, and just yesterday a letter from management urging everyone to wear a mask when they are in the presence of others, all of the residents are wearing them when we have our social time.
Our art therapists are assisting residents in making cloth masks for staff and residents. Their goal is 1000 but I think they will exceed this. Many other residents have been making them at home for themselves and to add to the mask collection which will be distributed.
I have sent for masks from Etsy.com from three different vendors and they should arrive in the next few days. Meanwhile I am wearing masks made from bandanas ( above right). There are many DIY tutorials on how to do this online. Here’s the easiest one to make.
This is the message from our governor yesterday:
Tuesday morning, Oregon Governor Kate Brown issued a statement regarding the new guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that everyone wear a non-medical, cloth face covering in public.
“This is a rapidly-evolving situation, and each day we learn more about this virus,” said Brown. “Early in this pandemic, health experts advised that masks were not an effective way to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Now, the CDC has updated their guidance regarding the use of cloth, homemade masks in public: they now say that wearing cloth masks in public places like grocery stores can help prevent those who are sick –– particularly unknowingly infected, asymptomatic people –– from spreading the virus further.”
This is from Time Magazine:
The Ethics of Wearing (or Not Wearing) a Face Mask During the Coronavirus Pandemic
It's not just a health choice, it's a moral one
“In Eastern cultures people wear masks during flu season to protect others and then they come here and it’s startling and horrible to them that we don’t.”
Americans have not always done selfless well. The country’s vast landmass and frontier history have long made American culture one that highly prizes personal freedom—often at the expense of the public good. Enter coronavirus, enter the face mask, and all of that gets exacerbated.
I feel strongly that wearing masks is socially responsible and that it is the ethical thing to do. You don’t do it for yourself. You do it for others.
I was happy to see everyone wearing face coverings yesterday and trying, not always successfully, to maintain the "magic" (see below as to why it is referred to as magic) six foot distance.
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Six feet is further than many people realize. I suggest you measure it out at home.