By Kim Ryan
If worn and cleaned properly, reusable cotton masks can help to reduce virus spread of, this according to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
Lately, more and more jurisdictions around the world are requiring it’s citizens to wear some type of face covering to stem the spread of COVID19.
On April 28, 2020 New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a statewide order requiring residents to wear masks when in public. Scotland passed similar legislation, as have numerous other countries. In Canada, there’s currently no mandated requirement to wear masks in public. Instead, it’s left up to each individual to decide.
For my part, I’ve been making and wearing my own reusable/washable cotton face masks for a few weeks. Normally I wear them when I’m interacting with frontline workers, like my pharamacist or clerks at the grocery store. I think we owe it to these workers not to be spreading our germs to them (one worker actually thanked me for wearing a mask). I’ve also given some masks to family and friends and donated a bunch to local hospitals and frontline workers.
While the best strategy for avoiding COVID19 is still lots of hand washing and social distancing, I don’t think it hurts to add another layer of protection by wearing a mask.
For more information about wearing and cleaning cotton face masks click here