Face coverings will become mandatory on all public transport in England from 15th June 2020

Blog post by Ellie.

Hello everyone, I’ve noticed when I am out in East London, even though its busy, very few people wear facemasks. I have been wondering about this, I know its a choice to wear one and not everyone can wear one (children/asthmatics), but I wanted to write about how they can help reduce the spread of viruses to wear one when you are close to others.

I protect you, you protect me 

I think there is a  misconception around this whole subject. Face masks don’t necessarily protect you from the virus but what they do do is protect others from you, if you have the virus. Therefore, if everyone can wear a mask when being close to others outside of their household, it may help slow down the spreading. A mask also prevents you from touching your face, something that’s very useful if in fact you do touch something with the virus on it. The Czech Republic has made it mandatory to wear masks and since then, the spreading of the virus has slowed down and they are going to slowly start opening shops and cafes.

Exercising outside without a mask? You might be spreading it even more!

Joggers, runners, cyclists, anyone doing any kind of physical exercise without a facemask create a slipstream of their breath/saliva/couch droplets and this can linger in the air for a long time. Therefore, the 2m rule doesn’t apply here. “On the basis of these results the scientist advises that for walking the distance of people moving in the same direction in 1 line should be at least 4–5 meter, for running and slow biking it should be 10 meters and for hard biking at least 20 meters.”

Facemasks are cool. Don’t be embarrassed to wear one! 

Maybe some might be a little embarrassed to wear a facemask, and they can feel a bit restricting, perhaps they don’t want people to look at them, to judge them, I know no one likes to be told what to do and it should not feel like your freedom of choice is being tested, but if you know that its helping protect other then that’s a benefit.
I have been making my own from pretty cotton fabric so they feel light on the face – I now see them as a new fashion accessory!

DO

• Wash it with water. Iron it after each use to kill off the virus.

• Wear a mask, or anything that could protect your mouth and nose.

DON’T

• Assume you are safe when wearing your facemask. Facemasks protect others from you, that’s why everyone should be wearing them!

• Take it off mid-shopping or outside. The whole point is to keep it on you at all times.

So try to consider wearing a mask, scarf, buff, anything that could protect your mouth and nose. It could save lives!

And don’t forget to iron it after each use, otherwise you could be carrying the virus around with you all the time!

I am making cotton masks to order, to buy one – CONTACT ME  on instagram and if you have any more questions, I’d be happy to answer them! Stay safe, people!

Ellie

Further reading
https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-learning-how-to-dance-b8420170203e

How virus particles spread: https://medium.com/@jurgenthoelen/belgian-dutch-study-why-in-times-of-covid-19-you-can-not-walk-run-bike-close-to-each-other-a5df19c77d08

Coronavirus: The Basic Dance Steps Everybody Can Follow – https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-the-basic-dance-steps-everybody-can-follow-b3d216daa343

Here is Suzie wearing one of my home sewn masks on her trip to the busy post office.