Columbus Regional Health and the COVID-19 Community Task Force are calling on the community to make homemade masks to help slow the local spread of the virus and protect workers who are at a high risk of exposure, including cashiers at local retailers and grocery stores.
Currently, it is unclear how many masks will be needed, but CRH officials hope to get “2,500 before and through the weekend,” said CRH spokeswoman Kelsey DeClue.
“There really needs to be this concerted effort across the community to help to protect some of these other workforce members who still need to be out, such as clerks at local retailers, staff at local grocery stores,” she said. “…CRH is going to be the hub for this mask-making.”
DeClue said “the majority” the homemade masks will be distributed into the community once the populations who need them are identified. The masks would not be worn by health care workers who are involved in patient care, she said.
Several days ago, the federal Centers for Disease Control recommended the use of cloth face coverings, especially in areas of significant community-based transmission.
“We now know from recent studies that a significant portion of individuals with coronavirus lack symptoms and that even those who eventually develop symptoms can transmit the virus to others before showing symptoms,” the CDC said. “…In light of this new evidence, CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.”
CRH has started reaching out to churches and other community organizations to spread the word about the effort, DeClue said.
The masks can be dropped off at CRH’s Volunteers Services Office, 2325 N. 18th St., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Monday. The office is located at the northeast corner of the intersection of 18th Street and Hawcreek Avenue before reaching the bridge over Haw Creek, DeClue said. The office is not located at Columbus Regional Hospital.
“There is definitely a sense of urgency around this,” she said. “…We know there are other personal protective equipment needs in the community, not within our organization, so that is where can we best allocate those to help keep the broader community safe.”
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The federal Centers for Disease Control have released a guide on how to make homemade masks. For more information, www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html.
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The masks may be dropped off at Columbus Regional Health’s Volunteers Services Office, 2325 N. 18th St., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Monday.
Contact Rebekah Walsh at [email protected] or 812-376-5305 for more information.
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