Dear neighbors, There has been a bit of back and forth on this forum lately, including a recent article shared reporting on a study comparing cloth masks to standard disposable medical masks. It is indisputable that cloth are not as good as disposable medical masks. *However, while I desperately hope that this will not be the case, we may be facing a situation in the near future where healthcare and other at risk workers are confronted with the choice of cloth mask or NO mask*. This situation has NOT been studied, and I guarantee most in this situation would prefer a cloth mask to no mask at all. Indeed, many hospitals and health systems, including most recently the Harvard medical system, are adding cloth masks to their list of requested donations (in addition to N95s, face shields, surgical masks, etc). Now, the above is relevant to healthcare workers who are facing very high risk and may not have adequate protection if supplies run out (which again, hopefully we may still be able to avoid). While healthcare workers receive training on how to appropriately don and doff masks and other PPE, I am increasingly seeing members of the public wearing masks. Though this is not recommended if you are feeling healthy currently, I want to share some important basics of safe mask use if you are choosing to wear one -- which would also be critical for cloth masks: 1. Only use the straps to apply and remove the mask, rather than touching the mask itself. 2. DO NOT touch the outside of the mask at any time while wearing it. If you do, consider your hands contaminated and immediately perform hand hygiene. 3. Masks should NOT be reworn between multiple potential exposure situations. After you have worn the mask, appropriately remove touching only the straps, and then place in washer if cloth. Dispose if disposable. Perform hand hygiene. 4. NEVER pull the mask down over your nose while wearing -- you have just contaminated yourself. I want to reiterate -- if you have any surgical, N95 or other masks right now, hospitals are taking donations and these will be highly needed by all working in healthcare settings (not just doctors and nurses -- the physical therapists, janitors, respiratory therapists -- it's a huge team!). But if you have the time, skill and desire to make cloth masks, thank you for doing that, and know that if a time comes when they are the only option, they will be used (following the appropriate guidance as above to keep as safe as possible). Lastly, I fully agree with the three ideas Lauren posted about how to help -- blood donations, order take out from restaurants, and pressure our representatives to provide adequate PPE to healthcare workers (as well as increasing hospital capacity), in addition to the much needed economic stimulus package. Thanks to this community for clearly and thoughtfully trying to do the right thing and help each other. It is really inspiring. All the best, Lena "I fundamentally believe that hope is more the consequence of action than its cause. It seems to me you have two choices in this life -- you can be a fatalistic spectator, or you can engage and produce hope. If those are the two choices, there is really only one choice." -- David Cole, National Legal Director ACLU