University provides guidance on cloth protective masks for students, faculty and staff

While the most effective protections against COVID-19 include washing your hands frequently with soap and water and practicing social and physical distancing, new information is released daily to help keep all of us safe.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently recommended cloth masks as an added measure of protection, particularly in areas of significant transmission. Ohio University encourages students, faculty, and staff who are approved to be on-campus to follow CDC guidance in all areas.

Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton, M.D., MPH, strongly recommends that Ohioans take the following actions:

• Use face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, such as grocery stores, pharmacies, and public parks.
   
• Maintain 6-feet social distancing whenever possible, even if you are wearing a face covering.
   
• DO NOT place cloth face coverings on children under age 2, anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.
   
• Make cloth face coverings from household items or common materials. Use multiple layers of a fabric that does not damage or lose shape when laundered or machine dried.
   
• Support small businesses selling fabric masks at a reasonable price but watch out for scammers offering high-priced or so-called superior masks.

For information about sewing your own masks, visit https://about.kaiserpermanente.org/content/dam/internet/kp/comms/import/uploads/2020/03/02_COVID_Mask-Instructions_v9.pdf. The CDC has also provided guidance online for making simplified (non-sewn) masks.

Visit www.ohio.edu/coronavirus for more information about Ohio University’s response to COVID-19. Contact coronavirus@ohio.edu if you have any questions.