Continue to follow the physical distancing guidelines:
· stay at home as much as possible,
· keep 6 feet between you and others in public,
· don’t touch your face,
· cover coughs and sneezes, and
· wash your hands.
· If you are sick, stay home and away from others to protect them.
Cloth face coverings are NOT a replacement for physical distancing. Cloth face-coverings are one more thing we can do to protect one another.
How to use cloth face covering
· You can make a homemade cloth face covering. The tighter the weave, the thicker the cloth, and the better it fits your face, the better the protection. You can also use bandanas or scarves.
· Homemade cloth face coverings should be washed after every use with warm water and soap.
· Make sure you can breathe easily through them.
· Cloth face coverings can be itchy. Don’t reach under the mask to touch your nose or mouth.
The CDC recommends children under 2 or anyone who can’t remove the covering themselves do not wear face coverings.
Why cloth face coverings are recommended at this time
· Recent studies show that people with COVID-19 can have no symptoms or mild symptoms and still spread the virus. We are learning more and that’s why we have this new recommendation.
· Face coverings decrease how many droplets we release when we speak, cough, or sneeze. Whenever we forcefully exhale, we release droplets.
· Face coverings are intended to protect others.
Medical masks
· The general public should not wear medical masks or N95 respirators.
· Health care workers need these medical masks to stay safe and do their jobs.
· Medical masks are in limited supply and we need to make sure these are only for front line health care workers.