The wearing of face masks has been quite a controversial topic in 2020. Some States in Australia mandate the wearing of masks, others highly recommend wearing them and some seem not to care. Indeed, it took months of research and lobbying by medical professionals for governments to even acknowledge that mask wearing might be helpful during the pandemic.

From my point of view, it was always a no brainer and I have been working all year with Masks for Mates to make and distribute masks to people who need them. Our motto this year has been ‘I protect you and you protect me’.

This happens when we all wear a mask. There has been a lot of talk about the number of layers needed in a mask as well as what type of fabric is needed. But we need to make masks that people will actually keep on their faces and so Masks for Mates decided on a two layer mask with a pocket for inserting a filter if needed. The two layer masks were made with cotton and polycotton because there is evidence that the two different fabrics provide better protection than if just one type is used. A simple test is to try to blow out a candle when wearing the mask – if you can’t blow the candle out, then the mask is doing its job.

Of course now that the number of cases of COVID-19 are low in most states of Australia people will question why they have to wear masks. People become complacent to the dangers of this virus very quickly. But it is not over yet and won’t be for some time. So we are facing a Christmas during a pandemic. How can we make it a safe time without putting Grandma or Grandpa in danger?

We can all wear masks if we are in an enclosed space during Christmas gatherings! Not keen on this idea? Well why not make Festive Masks using Christmas print fabrics and give every family member a Festive Mask for Christmas? That’s what I have done this year.

If you would like some help to make masks like these you can follow the instructions and short videos on the Masks for Mates website.

We hope you will join us at Helpful by Nature by subscribing to our email list. We would love to hear from you, take your questions and provide answers if we are able.

We wish you a safe and Happy Christmas Season. Let us know if you make some masks.

What Next?

Until next time,

 

 

Gillian (and Andrew)