As the coronavirus continues to spread throughout the United States, demands for supplies such as food, toilet paper, and hand sanitizer have been increasing. Included in these shortages are masks, which are currently either sold out or extremely overpriced on online stores. The CDC recommends that all Americans wear any form of cloth-covering when going outside, in addition to practicing social distancing. So, in response to the shortages and new guidelines, students have been making their own masks at home.
“I made the mask a few weeks ago, and my dad used it when he went out. It’s made out of a thick cloth material for the face and the elastic strings that go on the ears,” Richard Montgomery sophomore Athira Nair said.
For the most part, students seem to be following short, online tutorials that have been circulating on popular apps. “My mom showed me a video on Facebook last week that showed you how you could fold a bandana a certain way to create a mask using some hair ties,” Richard Montgomery sophomore Eashana Subramanian said. “I’m pretty sure I’ve also seen TikTok videos of people making masks.”
Besides nationwide shortages of masks, many students are well aware of hoarders that seem to be mass-buying N95 masks, which are mostly used by healthcare workers. Rather than buying these masks, students are willing to use cloth ones for a quick trip to the grocery store.
“Our first option was to buy N95 masks online, but we deviated away from that mainly because we thought that hospital workers definitely need them more than we do,” Richard Montgomery sophomore Ishanvi Malayanil said. “So that’s when I got to texting a couple of people, and I got a video tutorial sent to me. I showed it to my family, and we thought that this was a much better alternative than taking away resources from essential workers that need it.”
Although cloth masks are by no means perfect, students who made masks at home argue that they are better than nothing and still offer some form of protection compared to leaving the house without a mask. “If you make a mask, however minimal the protection might be from the cloth that you’re using, protection is protection, and you’re helping to flatten the curve,” Malayanil said.
However, it’s important to make the mask carefully and practice social distancing measures in addition to wearing a mask. “If you make a homemade mask, make sure that it actually works and isn’t just a piece of cloth on your face,” Nair said.
Homemade masks are an excellent way to protect yourself, especially if you need a mask immediately and don’t have time to wait for a mask to be shipped to your home. By following the CDC and WHO’s guidelines and leaving N95 masks for healthcare workers, we can take another step towards flattening the curve and slowing the spread of coronavirus.
Article by Vismaya Mohindra of Richard Montgomery High School
Graphic by Nicole Fang of Richard Montgomery High School