Homemade face masks needed in eldercare settings

Nursing and assisted living homes are asking for homemade facemasks as workers brace for the COVID-19 surge.

As of Friday, there were 47 confirmed cases in Minnesota’s long-term care facilities.

Patti Cullen, from Care Providers of Minnesota, said all of the healthcare workers should be wearing facemasks, but there aren’t enough of them.

“Some of the homemade facemasks can be used for first tier source control, so they are not medically approved but they are something better than nothing,” said Cullen. “So if you are making homemade facemasks, drop them off at your local facilities. We would be happy to use them for source control when we are in individual rooms.”

Multiple groups throughout Minnesota have stepped up to make face masks for health care workers. To make the masks, the American Sewing Guild has shared some patterns online.