Cobb County put out an appeal for the donation of masks for poll workers for the upcoming June 9 General Primary and Nonpartisan Election.
The county needs 1,400 masks, and starting Monday May 4, there will be a donation bin at the elections office, located at 736 Whitlock Ave., Marietta.
The bin will be available from 12 – 1 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The county asks that the masks be placed in plastic bags before putting them in the donation box.
The county also posted a video from Fox 59 in Nashville of a set of instructions from the U.S. Surgeon General, Jerome Adams, on how to make a face mask using common household items.
Watch the video below on their website below:
Homemade and donated masks
The shortage of masks due to the COVID-19 pandemic has spurred the creation of both home-sewn masks and masks created by local businesses.
In Kennesaw, Bibi Husain of Ajay’s Upholstery has created hundreds of masks to donate to the community.
We featured her efforts in a recent article in the Courier.
The CDC recommendations on cloth face masks
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) did not recommend the wearing of face masks, but in recent weeks they’ve changed their recommendations.
They’ve issued a set of guidelines for the proper use of face coverings to avoid the spread of the coronavirus.
These recommendations include:
Cloth face coverings should—
- fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face
- be secured with ties or ear loops
- include multiple layers of fabric
- allow for breathing without restriction
- be able to be laundered and machine dried without damage or change to shape
The CDC further explained the new recommendations:
CDC 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.
CDC also advises 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. Cloth face coverings fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost can be used as an additional, voluntary public health measure.
Cloth face coverings should not be placed on young children under age 2, anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.
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.
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