Make your own face mask

reporter 1222 — Sun, 05 Apr 2020 06:49:54 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – It’s difficult to keep your distance in a grocery store or pharmacy, so now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says we should wear a homemade face mask in public to slow the spread of the coronavirus — particularly in areas with high community transmission.

Officials don’t want healthy people using medical masks because of fears they would buy them all (kind of like toilet paper) and not leave them for health care workers, USA Today wrote.
We have the answer: Make your own.
The face mask doesn’t need to be professional-grade to help fight against COVID-19. According to recent studies, the virus can spread between people in proximity by coughing, sneezing or even speaking.
It is important to note that covering your face with a piece of cloth won’t protect you. But, it could help you from spreading the virus if you’re like some people who lack symptoms and don’t know they have it.
Sewing your own mask is easy, says Jeannette Childers, who’s 77 and lives in Mesa, Arizona. She’s among scores of volunteers across the country sewing face mask. So far, she’s made 65.
Note: Make sure your printer is set up to print at “actual size.”
1. Cut material and interfacing to 12 x 9 inches
2. Iron interfacing to the material (adhesive side to the back of material)
3. Once ironed, fold the fabric in half with interfacing on the outside
4. Cut two pieces of elastic — each 7-inches long
5. Pin and sew 1/4-inch from the edge leaving a two-inch gap in the center
6. Put the elastic band on each corner, inside the material and pin to keep in place, making sure the elastic is not twisted. Pinning in center as well
7. Using the pattern, mark locations of pleat lines and add pins on both sides
8. Fold 3 pleats. Sew around the entire perimeter of the mask, this holds the pleats in place and closes the 2-inch gap
All you have to do is remove the pins, test out your new mask and head out to do your grocery shopping or wherever might make social distancing difficult.
While you’re at it, make extra to donate. The cloth face coverings recommended are not surgical masks or N-95 respirators, which are critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for health care workers.

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Germany condemns ‘US modern piracy’ over mask confiscation

reporter 1222 — Sat, 04 Apr 2020 09:02:55 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – The US has been accused of redirecting three million Germany-bound masks for its own use, in a move condemned as “modern piracy”.

The local government in Berlin said the shipment of US-made masks was “confiscated” in Bangkok, BBC reported on Saturday.

The FFP2 masks, which were ordered by Berlin’s police force, did not reach their destination, it said.

Andreas Geisel, Berlin’s interior minister, said the masks were presumably diverted to the US.

The US company that makes the masks, 3M, has been prohibited from exporting its medical products to other countries under a law invoked by President Donald Trump. On Friday, Trump said he was using the Defense Production Act to demand that US firms provide more medical supplies to meet domestic demand. “We need these items immediately for domestic use. We have to have them,” Trump said at the daily Coronavirus Task Force briefing.

Geisel said the diversion of masks from Berlin amounted to an “act of modern piracy”, urging the Trump administration to adhere to international trading rules. “This is not how you deal with transatlantic partners,” the minister said. “Even in times of global crisis, there should be no wild-west methods.”

Geisel’s comments echo the sentiments of other European officials, who have complained about the buying and diversion practices of the US.

In France, for example, regional leaders say they are struggling to secure medical supplies as American buyers outbid them.

The president of the Île-de-France region, Valérie Pécresse, compared the scramble for masks to a “treasure hunt”.

“I found a stock of masks that was available and Americans – I’m not talking about the American government – but Americans, outbid us,” Pécresse said. “They offered three times the price and they proposed to pay up-front.”

As the coronavirus pandemic worsens, demand for crucial medical supplies, such as masks and respirators, has surged worldwide. Earlier this week, the World Health Organization (WHO) said it was considering changing its guidance on whether people should wear face masks in public. At present, the WHO advises that masks do not provide sufficient protection from infection to justify mass usage. But some countries have taken a different view, including the US.

The US has 277,475 recorded cases of COVID-19, the highest number in the world by a large margin, while the disease has affected more than one million people and killed almost 60,000 globally, the latest figures show.

In a separate development, 3M said the Trump administration had asked it to stop exporting US-made N95 respirator masks to Canada and Latin America.

The request had “significant humanitarian implications”, the company warned and could prompt other countries to act in kind.

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Make your own face mask

Germany condemns ‘US modern piracy’ over mask confiscation