Mayor De Blasio Says All New Yorkers Should Start Wearing "Face Coverings" Outside

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced at a press conference today that New Yorkers should start wearing masks, or what he is calling "face coverings," when they venture outside now. "We’re advising New Yorkers to wear a face covering when you go outside and will be near other people," he said. "Let’s be clear: this is a face covering. It could be a scarf, it could be a bandana, something you create yourself. It does not need to be a professional surgical mask."

De Blasio cited this CDC study of COVID-19 as to why the city is issuing these new guidelines now. He encouraged people to use whatever they have available to make the face covering: "You can create a face covering with anything you have at home right now, a piece of cloth," he said. "You can create your own version, you can be creative, you be creative and put your own decoration. That’s what we want you to do. Something homemade, not something professional."

Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot got into some more details about the coverings, saying the less fancy the better. She said they have two intended uses: "One is for individuals who are at the very, very beginning of an illness and don't yet know it, so they're pre-symptomatic, ensure they don't transmit infection to other people when they have to go out for essential activities. The other thing that these face coverings do is, if someone has to go outside, I want them to be a reminder for anyone they come in contact with to keep a distance of six feet. These face coverings shouldn't be seen as an invitation to come closer, they should be an indication of keeping distance."

As for material for them, she said one can use a paper face covering as long as it covers the mouth and nose; you can continue to reuse them as long as they don't get wet and as long as they maintain their integrity. But her biggest recommendation is to use cloth face coverings such as bandanas and scarfs that cover the nose and the mouth: "What I recommend is for these face coverings to be used for a day, then you can hand wash them in regular soap and water, and that the important thing is that they dry completely. We would recommend you have more than one face covering so you can alternate them."

The Washington Post reported late today that the White House is expected to make an announcement about new mask guidelines as well soon. Some leaders around the country, including Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, have already started asking citizens to wear face coverings or homemade masks.

Back on February 29th, with many people in the country beginning to prepare for the spread of coronavirus by buying supplies and groceries, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams advised the general public against getting face masks. “Seriously people — STOP BUYING MASKS!” Adams tweeted. “They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching coronavirus, but if healthcare providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!”

The messaging, which was then picked up by other federal officials, was supposed to manage the scarcity of masks in order to make sure hospitals and medical care workers had access to them. However, as early as mid-March, it started becoming clear that telling people the masks wouldn't work may have backfired. As the Times wrote on March 17th, the contradictory information was actually counterproductive: "Unfortunately, the top-down conversation around masks has become a case study in how not to communicate with the public, especially now that the traditional gatekeepers like media and health authorities have much less control. The message became counterproductive and may have encouraged even more hoarding because it seemed as though authorities were shaping the message around managing the scarcity rather than confronting the reality of the situation."

Soon after that, George Gao, director-general of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told ScienceMag.com that the “big mistake in the U.S.” is that people aren’t wearing masks. “This virus is transmitted by droplets and close contact. Droplets play a very important role,” he said. You’ve got to wear a mask, because when you speak, there are always droplets coming out of your mouth.”

Now it's weeks later, and the messaging is changing drastically. Adams said yesterday that he has asked the CDC to investigate whether the previous recommendation should change. He said the advice to avoid wearing masks had been based on the “best available evidence at the time” but “we now know there is a significant amount of asymptomatic spread.” The Washington Post reported on Monday that the CDC was already debating whether to formally encourage all people to cover their face when out in public.

As of now, the World Health Organization states on its website that “if you are healthy, you only need to wear a mask if you are taking care of a person with suspected 2019-nCoV infection.” But The Guardian reported this week that the WHO was also due to reconsider its guidance on wearing face masks following new evidence—observational studies from Hong Kong have shown that “face masks are certainly not the only thing that was useful, but they’re something that should be studied properly instead of dismissed or excessively promoted with inadequate empirical evidence." Over in Japan, the government has started providing two reusable cloth masks to every household, the Japan Times reports, after the country reported a rise in cases alongside shortages in supplies.

And while staying quarantined at home and washing your hands vigorously is still the most important steps to take to avoid the virus, expert Stephen Morse, Professor of Epidemiology at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, told Gothamist that he's begun to be swayed by the latest information, too: "Chinese public health and medical officials strongly advocate them, and my colleague Ian Lipkin [the "master virus hunter" who advised on Contagion] was once skeptical but is now a true believer," he said. "I’d now probably be more in favor than before, if it’s not depriving those who need them most, and if people are attentive to their correct use, simply because it’s not always possible to practice strict 'social distancing' in a city like New York."

The problem now is that there is still a shortage of masks available to healthcare workers, who need all the masks they can get—even Pornhub doesn't have a limitless supply of masks to donate. So the most ethical, immediate and sensible things to do is make your own DIY face mask. As Scott Gottlieb, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner, said during an interview with Face the Nation, “people should be contemplating wearing masks. We should be putting out guidelines from the CDC on how you can develop a [cotton] mask on your own.”

Until the CDC does so, you have to rely on the Internet. Thankfully, there are tons of outlets offering tutorials in how to make them. And while homemade masks aren’t as effective as medical-grade masks like N95 respirators (which filter out at least 95% of airborne particles), researchers studying respiratory illnesses have found that even a simple mask can help lower the risk of infection.

The most important things to keep in mind according to experts: the mask should reach above the bridge of the nose and below the chin, and fit snuggly around your face. More layers add more protection; fabric ties might be better than an elastic band. As for what material to use, many places recommend using cotton and cotton blends to make masks (vacuum bags are particularly effective filters, but maybe not the most comfortable).

Until the CDC releases their own guidelines, you can check out some tips on making your own DIY mask from Vice, LA Times, Popular Science, and the NY Times, where they write: "Who knew the future would look so apocalyptically homespun — so Mad Max meets Little House on the Prairie? Yet this is no useless online fad; homemade masks for all could make a huge difference...Homemade masks both limit the spread of infectious droplets in the air and discourage people from touching their faces."

If you want to skip straight to the DIY phase, HERE ARE A BUNCH of MASK DESIGNS YOU CAN TRY OUT. There's more info about CDC-compliant masks here (plus a few more links to mask tutorials). You also might want to watch the videos below.

Brian Lehrer also spoke to science journalist Roxanne Khamsi about the reasons for (and against) everyone wearing masks and Amy Wilson, a Jersey City-based artist who teaches in the Visual and Critical Studies department at the School of Visual Arts, who talked about some of the patterns and considerations for making them at home.

[Update, Friday April 3rd] The CDC is now recommending that Americans voluntarily wear a non-medical cloth or fabric mask that can be either purchased online or simply made at home. While making the announcement today, Donald Trump noted, "This is voluntary. I don't think I am going to be doing it...“You can do it. You don’t have to do it. I’m choosing not to do it. It’s only a recommendation.”