cropped-masks4allinAfrica-ICON-Large-2Here is a campaign for YOU to do something from your home to help curb COVID-19 in Africa. Medical masks should be for health professionals ONLY but let us make fabric masks for everyone else, especially those sick in crowded clinics and households!

Anyone wearing a medical mask should be shamed! DONATE all your medical masks to the local clinic so that healthcare workers are fully protected.

Why should we wear masks?

We are still early in this epidemic, especially in Africa. Lockdowns are going to damage our economy and several countries have shown that everyone, YES, E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E wearing a mask (even a home-made one) can reduce our lockdown and/or prevent another lockdown. The important principle is that anyone with the virus (esp in crowded townships) will not pass it on to others before they have symptoms. If everybody does it then we can reduce the transmission. If we start now we can ensure that the 60 million people in South Africa and the 1.2b in Africa have one in three weeks. Use this time well!

Why is government advising against it?

The government is worried about people wasting medical masks and that is understandable. We want to campaign for the public to DONATE all their hoarded medical masks to the public service. We are very aware of the limits and challenges with fabric masks. We are advising people to sew higher quality masks, use it appropriately and to make sure they clean them well and regularly (see below).

What do we do?

Take your spare pieces of cotton at home (with high thread count  – linen, T-shirts, etc) and get someone to sew masks. There are ways to make masks well. See below. Do this locally while respecting the law and physical distancing. Talk to the authorities to support this effort to allow some leeway for you to do this. Ensure everyone in your family and neighbourhood (especially the vulnerable) get one, for FREE. Please donate as many of these masks to your nearest clinic and tell them to use it for the patients who are coughing (and for healthcare workers if they need it). We will put out a list of key family doctors across Africa who can make sure they get to the right place on the frontline. I hope that we can generate enough enthusiasm and numbers in Africa so that we can leave homemade masks in public places and ensure everyone wears a mask, especially when the lockdown stops.

How do I make the right masks?

There are so many designs and ways to make them better e.g. double-ply and pockets for filters etc. Search for designs and specifications on YouTube. Make a fashion statement. We will try to help. There is no need to fuss about making it perfect!! It’s more about reducing the chances of people spreading the virus rather than protecting people from the virus. There are several groups that can assist you to make good masks. Join them.

How long do I wear my mask?

If you are well. You can just wear it when you go out of the house and then wash it at the end of the day. Don’t forget the key things are for you to wash your hands and don’t put your fingers under your mask unless your hands are washed. Avoid touching the mask too much. Remember that you don’t want to infect yourself but the more important idea is that if you somehow did start to get sick you are fortunately not making others sick with a few sneezes and coughs. You can change your mask daily.

If you notice that you are sick then be extra careful with your mask knowing that the virus may be present. If you are not well then you should be isolated, wearing it at home around your family and aware that you must change it regularly (extra’s are useful and it depends on how sick you are). You must manage your mask well, cleaning it regularly.

How do I manage my mask?

Please do NOT share your masks. Wash hands with soap and water before. Cover both your mouth and nose with the mask and ensure there are no gaps. Avoid touching the mask while using it To remove the mask: remove it from behind (do not touch the front of the mask) and stick in a separate washing bucket. Wash hands with soap and water after.

How do I spread the word about #masks4all ?

Share this page with all your social circles. Wear your funky mask, take a selfie and post it on Facebook or  Telegram with the hashtag #masks4all and join the movement.

We must stop corona-virus in its tracks. Have a look at theses videos to understand more about how and why.

The Czech Republic has a relatively low growth rate, whereas in other parts of Europe the pandemic is largely out of control. How has this happened? One of the key reasons is a massive country-wide community initiative to create and wear home-made masks. Masks have been compulsory since March 18th. In just 10 days the country went from no mask usage to nearly 100% usage, with nearly all the masks made at home with easily accessible materials, like old t-shirts. See https://tiny.cc/masks4all In S Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, there is no lock-down. Yet Covid-19 is being controlled in these countries. How has this happened? One of the key reasons is that mask-wearing in public is ubiquitous and socially expected. See http://tiny.cc/maskswork. The global #masks4all community has compiled scientific research papers showing the effectiveness of masks at combating Covid-19 transmission, including home-made masks.

What is the evidence behind this?

Papers about the effectiveness of basic masks #masks4all

See some amazing people doing similar things in SA