It’s time to Mask UP, Lewis County! Many local residents are already heeding Washington State Department of Health and CDC guidance to wear cloth face coverings in public, but we need full community participation to beat COVID-19.
In order to incentivize strong masking practices, the Lewis County Community Services Coalition is launching the Mask UP campaign.
Why Mask UP? A large percentage of those infected with COVID-19 don’t show symptoms.
They feel perfectly healthy – but they’re still contagious. This means they can spread the virus to others without ever knowing they had it. Masking – along with handwashing, social distancing and other safety precautions – is key to stopping the spread.
But what about those who don’t regularly interact with anyone who is immunocompromised or in a high risk age group? Do they really need to mask?
Yes. COVID-19 can be fatal for previously healthy people in any age group. In addition, you must think not only of the people you regularly interact with, but the people they interact with, and so on. A seemingly healthy person can spread the disease to another seemingly healthy person, who can spread it to another seemingly healthy person, until it infects someone who may not survive. The responsibility to protect our community rests on us all.
Masking will help slow the spread. This means more lives saved, an eased burden on local first responders, and a quicker return to normalcy. Now that’s something we can all get behind!
You can help by joining the Mask UP movement.
Simply follow these steps:
- Commit to wearing a mask when you’re in public.
- Take a masked selfie holding a sign that shares why you mask, with #whyimask. Here are a few examples: I mask to protect my community I mask to stay healthy I mask so we can get back to work sooner I mask to protect the families of others I mask to protect essential workers I mask because it’s the right thing to do.
- Post your selfie on social media and tag three friends – encouraging them to Mask UP and share their “why” as well.
The Mask UP campaign coincides perfectly with United Way’s Washington Mask Challenge, a statewide initiative encouraging Washingtonians to make, wear, and donate cloth face masks.
And remember – masking is just one of six practices essential to stopping the spread of COVID-19.
Check out the following links for instructions on how to make your own face mask:
- https://www.joann.com/make-to-give-response/
- https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-make-a-cloth-face-mask/
- https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/24/cnn-underscored/how-to-make-face-mask-at-home/index.html
- https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html
You can also buy cloth face masks on Etsy, Los Angeles Apparel, Sock Fancy and String King, among other sites. The Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce also has a limited number of masks available. Please reserve N95 masks for first responders and other essential personnel.
For more information on the Washington Mask Challenge, please visit WAMaskChallenge.org or email Ryan Cole at resource@lewiscountyuw.com. For questions on the Mask UP campaign, email Andrea Culletto at Andrea@TwinTransit.org.
So, Mask UP and join the #whyimask fun for a safer, healthier Lewis County!