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Berrien Health Department Issues Alert Recommending Face Coverings in Public Settings

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For those who depart their homes to pick up prescriptions at the pharmacy, head to the grocery store to re-stock, or other public settings where it is difficult to distance yourself from others, the Berrien County Health Department this morning has issued an alert on their Facebook page taking up guidance from the CDC. Here is what they have posted this morning, Saturday, April 4, 2020:

Breaking New COVID-19 Guidance: The CDC now recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission.

We now know from recent studies that a portion of individuals with #COVID19 don’t have symptoms (“asymptomatic”) and that even those who eventually develop symptoms (“pre-symptomatic”) can transmit the virus to others before showing symptoms. This means that the virus can spread between people interacting in close proximity—for example, speaking, coughing, or sneezing—even if those people are not exhibiting symptoms.

It is critical to emphasize that maintaining 6-feet social distancing remains important to slowing the spread of the virus. CDC is additionally advising the use of simple cloth face coverings to slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others.

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The cloth face coverings recommended are not surgical masks or N-95 respirators. Those are critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for healthcare workers and other medical first responders, as recommended by current CDC guidance.

Read more on the new recommendations:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html

Watch this video for a DIY homemade mask tutorial: https://youtu.be/tPx1yqvJgf4