On April 3, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued a new recommendation that people wear cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies). The Hingham Health Department supports this CDC recommendation. This voluntary public health measure can help slow the spread of COVID-19 and help prevent asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic people from inadvertently transmitting the virus to others.
The CDC is recommending that people use cloth face coverings instead of surgical masks or N-95 respirators to ensure that those critical supplies are reserved for healthcare workers and other medical first responders. Simple cloth face coverings can be fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost. More information about making and using cloth face coverings to help slow the spread of COVID-19 can be found on the CDC website.