PHOTOS BY RUTH GOODMAN
Mid-South Mask Makers kicked off on Friday and already has hundreds of members hoping to make a difference in light of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Jennifer Reith and her team at Night Owl T-Shirt Quilts have already made thousands of kits containing fabric to make masks for health care workers who are running low while fighting against the coronavirus.
Located at 747 West Poplar Ave., Suite 101, the group is one of many that has chosen to sew masks to help the medical community keep up with the demand. The masks are not intended to replace the N95 medical masks.
They are only precautionary to limit contact. Nurses are wearing these handmade masks over their N95 masks to extend the life of the N95 masks.
The COVID-19 virus has created an unprecedented demand for masks and the CDC does recommend alternative masks when no other proper protection is available.
For healthcare workers who normally use thin throwaway medical masks (low-risk level exposure), some are inserting those thin medical masks into these cotton masks to extend the life of their masks.
PICTURED: Ellie VanDyke, a student at Collierville High School, cuts material into a mask’s.
PICTURED: Jane Rife and Debbie Gadd pick up masks to sew in the elastic. They will bring the completed masks back to the container for use.
Those who want to help can ask to join the Mid-South Mask Makers Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/2138556833044015/?ref=share.
