NASA Employees Advised To Wear Face Masks
NASA Agencywide Message: CDC Guidelines on Face Coverings in Public Places, NASA
“In order to protect our workforce, and your families, NASA employees and contractors are strongly encouraged to follow the CDC guidelines on the use of cloth face coverings in public settings, and where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, including on NASA centers, where practicable. These are unprecedented times, but we are confident that these measures, in combination with others already in place, will help slow the transmission of the virus.”
We spent about 6 hours sewing 6 masks from materials we had around the house, so each of us has two of them. Sign of the times.
That’s good advice, but I think this is one of the times when a scientist’s obsession with clear terminology is important. The NASA and CDC statements were about “cloth face coverings”. Fine, and good advice. But it’s important not to confuse that with medical face masks. Those are in short supply, and the available ones really ought to go to people like doctors and nurses, who are near contagious people on a daily or hourly basis. I think it’s also important for people to read the whole text of those statements. Social distancing and staying at home as much as possible are very important. It would not be good if people got the impression that a scarf over their face was a substitute for them. It’s an additional precaution, not a replacement.
I started wearing a balaclava made out of double wrapped t-shirt today when I went into the store. I’m fine w/ a sturdy immune system and not in an at-risk demographic. I’m concerned about being an asymptomatic carrier and hurting others. But a t-shirt against a virus with a 0.125 micron diameter? Seems more like virtue signaling than anything. I’m staying home best I can.
We sewed our own using a pattern we found on the Internet. It was a tad complicated, but seems to fit well. Luckily we had all the materials, and a sewing machine, at home. We didn’t have elastic, to go around your head, so we used shoestrings instead (for some reason we had six sets of new shoestrings in with our cosplay/sewing supplies).
The mandatory 8th grade Home Economics class I took in the 80s came in handy again (they really should require that and a basic Shop class for every Jr. High School student).