MakeMask.org

https://vimeo.com/399772052

The stores are running out of surgical masks.
The US Surgeon General has asked the public to reserve them medical professionals.
Of course an official N95 surgical mask is best. But better than no mask at all,
here is how you can make your own out of coffee filters, tape, and stapled rubber bands.

More information and ideas for masks is at
MakeMask.org

Volunteers making masks in Fairfield
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmx9y_0Vt2o

Make a mask
https://www.nwahomepage.com/news/web-extra-how-to-make-a-homemade-face-mask/

How to sew one (from a lady) by Erica Arndt
https://youtu.be/4FB--BOyTiU

Cotton fabric by Joanne
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgHrnS6n4iA

Sheryl's sewing room
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEHU0U4TQXc

Noelle Designs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8d7f4B44KM

Raphela Laurean
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grRqoHxPjaY

Bridal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSeDlVxQx1k

What we can do - by David Lee
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJPRKw14Fys

Helpful links from my www.NextDoor.com neighbors:

Facebook mask group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/209238470426515/ Make your own NO-SEW mask:
1.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJaVBt8q6g8
2.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOe_8z8k01U
3.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOe_8z8k01U

Wearing Masks COVID-19

The Case for Face Masks "Immediate disclaimer: This article is not going to suggest that the general public should go out and compete with medical professionals for the limited supply of existing medical-grade face masks.

Let’s get that out of the way at the very beginning. The supply chain issues are real and we must do everything in our power to support the front-line medical personnel who are battling this virus and taking significant personal risks in doing so. End of story. This article is about the research and reasoning that supports the wide usage of face masks for the general public in slowing down the transmission of the virus in this epidemic.

In Part II of the article, I will address how we can make face masks ourselves, in our own communities, in a way that doesn’t stress the existing supply chains. Why masks for some, but not all? Firstly, here’s a bit of reasoning, before we get to the research. You may have heard people say that face masks should only be worn if you are sick, or are caring for someone who is sick. In fact, this is the current CDC advice in the US and also the advice from the WHO . However, let’s also recognise that some studies have shown that the incubation period for SARS-CoV-2 is between 3.0–5.2 days.

This matters because symptomless carriers are also infectious. So, basically, you, we and I don’t really know who is ‘sick’ and who isn’t. Or, at least, it’s impossible to tell if a person has the virus, unless either they have completed a strict 7-day quarantine, or they have been very recently tested. The most effective way to slow transmission therefore is to assume that you do have the virus and also to assume that anyone that you interact with (from a distance of a minimum of 6 feet at all times), also has the virus. Given this, if masks were widely available and worn ubiquitously, reason suggests that they would at the very least do no harm and may significantly slow the rate of community transmission, given that they are already actually recommended for people who are displaying symptoms and the people who are caring for them.

Or, as the medical journal The Lancet puts it, in its article ‘Rational use of face masks in the COVID-19 pandemic’: ‘Face masks are widely used by medical workers as part of droplet precautions when caring for patients with respiratory infections. It would be reasonable to suggest vulnerable individuals avoid crowded areas and use surgical face masks rationally when exposed to high-risk areas. As evidence suggests COVID-19 could be transmitted before symptom onset, community transmission might be reduced if everyone, including people who have been infected but are asymptomatic and contagious, wear face masks.’ ( https://www.thelancet.com/…/PIIS2213-2600(20)3013…/fulltext… )

Or, you could just say ‘everyone’, because as mentioned earlier, no one knows who the asymptomatic and contagious carriers actually are. A false sense of security? Another argument that has been used against face masks is this one. Face masks give people a false sense of security that might encourage them to not wash their hands as much. Here’s an example of officials from WHO and the French government making that case. This another argument that doesn’t really stand up to the test of reason. First of all, let’s just say that if you are feeling a sense of security that you won’t contract SARS-CoV-2, there are only two possibilities that hold: You are in 100% isolation all of the time

You are delusional This argument describes an educational problem at best, it is not an argument against the efficacy of face masks for the general public. We know that SARS-CoV-2, can linger in the air for at least 30 minutes and travel up to 4.5 metres, and that it can survive for 2–3 days on hard surfaces. (https://www.scmp.com/…/coronavirus-can-travel-twice-far-off… ) It’s crazy infectious. Hopefully, the public are catching up to this fact and fast. Face masks are in no way a guarantee that you won’t get the virus, but the important question to consider is still, can they help slow the rate of transmission?

Let’s put this in perspective, in a world that is now spending trillions on economic stimulus packages to deal with the fall out of the epidemic….if there is any proven efficacy to the public use of face masks, and there is little or no harm in doing that, and the supply chain problems can be solved…why wouldn’t you wholeheartedly recommend that people wear them in the appropriate circumstances? The public don’t know how to use face masks Another frequently used argument is that the public don’t know how to use face masks and that if they are not properly fitted, they are ineffective. Yes, people shouldn’t adjust their mask too much, or touch the front of them because of the potential exposure to the virus, but any mask offers some protection, however limited, from respiratory droplets.

If the public can get used to social distancing, potentially long periods of quarantine and massive disruption to every possible social norm that existed just a few short weeks ago, why can’t they be taught how to properly use a face mask? Or, as Dr. Zeynep Tufekci said in her New York Times article Why Telling People They Don’t Need Masks Backfired: ‘Many people also wash their hands wrong, but we don’t respond to that by telling them not to bother.’ (https://www.nytimes.com/…/opini…/coronavirus-face-masks.html ) Here’s an example of a tutorial on how to properly use a face mask from the WHO. For clarity, here’s a summary: Before putting on a mask, clean hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water. Cover mouth and nose with mask and make sure there are no gaps between your face and the mask.

Avoid touching the mask while using it; if you do, clean your hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water. Replace the mask with a new one as soon as it is damp and do not re-use single-use masks. To remove the mask: remove it from behind (do not touch the front of mask); discard immediately in a closed bin; clean hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water. (https://www.who.int/…/advice-for-…/when-and-how-to-use-masks ) In comparison to other aspects of the crisis, teaching people how to correctly use face masks doesn’t seem like heavy lifting at all. This is another educational problem, not an argument against efficacy.

The argument that face masks reduce transmission in an epidemic So do face masks work? What is the argument for their efficacy? Despite the often repeated phrase by public health care officials that there is little evidence of this, here’s some evidence of this. First of all, I’m not going to suggest at all that wearing a face mask is a replacement for any other precautionary behavior or intervention. It doesn’t replace the need for impeccable hand hygiene. It doesn’t replace the need for social distancing. However, face masks used in conjunction with hand hygiene and social distancing have been shown to increase the effectiveness of all of these measures.

You need to do ALL of them. Here’s a conclusion from a paper on the role of hand hygiene in reducing transmission of influenza. ‘In particular, measures such as hand hygiene that focus on reducing one mode of transmission (i.e. contact) may not be sufficient to control transmission. Measures that may require more detailed consideration include N95-type respirators, improved indoor ventilation, quarantining the infected individuals, and even the use of air humidifiers, given the potential role of humidity in reducing viability of aerosols.’ Not convinced because this isn’t data from a randomised controlled study? Fair enough.

So, then there’s this from the paper ‘Facemasks and hand hygiene to prevent influenza transmission in households: a cluster randomized trial.’: ‘Hand hygiene with or without facemasks seemed to reduce influenza transmission, but the differences compared with the control group were not significant. [However] transmission of …infection seemed reduced, an effect attributable to fewer infections among participants using facemasks plus hand hygiene.’ Or, in slightly plainer English: ‘Hand hygiene and facemasks seemed to prevent household transmission of influenza virus when implemented within 36 hours of index patient symptom onset.’ A synthesis of 67 studies supports masks as a supportive measure In 2011, a group of more than eight universities along with the WHO did a study on Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6993921/ )

To goal was to review the effectiveness of physical interventions to reduce the spread of an epidemic. This survey was based on the synthesis of 67 studies including randomized controlled trials and observational studies with a mixed risk of bias. The conclusion of the study was: ‘Surgical masks or N95 respirators were the most consistent and comprehensive supportive measures.’ So, there’s that. Of course, not even the studies that conclude that masks are amongst the best supported of non-pharmaceutical measures are claiming that wearing a face mask will protect you in-and-of-itself.

Just to reiterate, a face mask is just one of many measures you need to employ, including self isolation, social distancing and hand hygiene. Are the public ready to embrace face masks? Countries like the UK, US and Australia have certainly been slow to embrace masks, and sometimes quick to ridicule those who choose to wear them. Is this because of social custom, or is because of the public health advice? Some research suggests that when informed of the potential benefits of wearing a mask, most people then felt it was the responsible thing to do. A research paper looking for simple, low-cost, effective ways of minimising the transmission and impact of acute respiratory infections looked at 16 different studies in nine different countries.

The synthesis of these showed that hand and respiratory hygiene were viewed as familiar and socially responsible actions to take. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4891197/ ) In an extraordinary global emergency that currently has 25% of the world’s population in some form of lockdown, perhaps the principle of least harm here should really suggest that encouraging and de-stigmatising the widespread use of face masks as a public health measure is proportionate and reasonable under the circumstances." I will shortly be posting some more information about open source DIY masks you can make. In the meantime, you can find plenty of that kind of stuff at this very useful facebook group: Open Source COVID-19 Medical Supplies" (https://m.facebook.com/groups/opensourcecovid19medicalsupplies) -Mark Heley Link to original article: medium.com/@markheley/the-case-for-face-masks-9f4d53d9345c

https://www.facebook.com/groups/279162823049957/

Nancy Lonsdorf MD: I agree with...the value of everyone wearing masks unless in 100% isolation alone, and to "make your own" at this time to allow the front line health professionals enough to protect themselves properly, given limited supply.
Hong Kong microbiologist and world expert in SARS and COVid says basically the same: https://fightcovid19.hku.hk/live3/

Script of video

Hi this is Rick Shaddock with MakeMask.org staying at home on a snowy day on how to make your own face mask. If you went to Walmart, Dollar store or hardware store you may see that these masks are sold out. But we are told there's hope! China is making 200 million per day. China? We are not dependent on China. European Americans invented most things people use, then the Chinese copy the patented inventions Well they did invent a pretty effective virus.

1	Surgical Mask	The first recorded surgical face mask use was by the French surgeon Paul Berger during an 1897 operation in Paris. Modern surgical masks are made from paper or other non-woven material and should be discarded after each use.
We can make our own face mask out of items found in the home, and invented by Europeans and Americans Of course official masks with N95 rating are best. down to 3microns and fit tight to your face. Paul Kita, a coookbook author at Men's Health magazinesaid don't make your own. https://www.menshealth.com/health/a31224056/make-your-own-medical-mask/ Sorry Paul, something is better than nothing Make sure you have a sealed fit. Don't have a False Sense of Security. Still keep 6 feet distance as if you don't have a mask. The Surgeon General said stop buying so many masks that health profesionals can't get them.
2	Paper towels	Paper towels were first made by American Arthur Scott from Philadelphis. He invented the first disposable perforated towel-sized sheets in 1931 and founded the Scott Paper Company https://www.geni.com/people/Arthur-H-Scott-Inventor-Paper-Towel/6000000018022567250
3	Coffee Filter	The first paper coffee filter was invented by a European WOMAN, German housewife Melitta Bentz on July 8, 1908, . She wanted to remove the bitter taste caused by boiling loose grounds or using the typical method of linen to brew coffee.
4	Masking tape	Masking tape was invented in 1925 by 3M employee Richard Drew in St. Paul Minnesota. Drew observed autobody workers growing frustrated when they removed butcher paper they had taped to cars they were painting. The strong adhesive on the tape peeled off some of the paint they had just applied. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masking_tape
5	Rubber Band	Stephen Perry in London patented the fist rubber bands made of vulcanized rubber on March 17, 1845 https://www.versteegde.nl/History_of_Elastic_and_Rubber_Bands.html rubber manufacturing company Messers Perry and Co, Rubber Co Manuf in London
6	Stapler	George McGill patented small, bendable paper fasteners of brass in 1866 in Philadelphia. George McGill also patented the Single Stroke Stapler in 1879 , the first commercially successful stapler weight over 2.5 pounds. received U.S. patent 56,587^[5] for a small, bendable brass paper fastener that was a precursor to the modern stapler and presented it in Piladelphia 1877 Henry R. Heyl filed a patent number 195,603 for the first machines to both insert and clinch a staple in one step, and for this reason some consider him the inventor of the modern stapler. 1879 George McGill patented the Single Stroke Stapler, the first commercially successful stapler weight over 2.5 pounds.

So good luck on this snowy Sunday. Check out the web site at www.MakeMask.org
Stay safe, inside Make Masks and Make Love too.

M95 #2 and #4 coffee filter

N95 respirator fabric
3 microns