On April 3, Pennsylvania Governor Wolf recommended that all Pennsylvanians wear a mask if they must leave their homes. On
Members of the general public don’t need a surgical mask – we need those for our health care workers and first responders. Instead, they are encouraged to wear homemade fabric or cloth masks.
Homemade masks limit the spread of infectious droplets in the air by containing coughs and sneezes.
When a homemade mask can’t be acquired a scarf or bandana can be utilized. By implementing
community use of these homemade fabric or cloth masks, everyone will have a higher degree of
protection from this virus.
When to Wear a Mask
Those who are staying home and have no close contacts who are infected with COIVID-19 don’t
need a mask most of the time. However, wearing a nonmedical or homemade mask may be helpful
in certain situations or for certain populations.
- Shopping at essential businesses, like grocery stores or pharmacies.
- While visiting your health care provider.
- Traveling on public transportation.
- Interacting with customers/clients at essential businesses.
- When feeling sick, coughing, or sneezing.
Because homemade masks protect everyone else from the droplets created by the wearer, it is
important that as many people as possible wear these masks when leaving their homes.
This helps prevent those who may be infectious but are only mildly symptomatic or not symptomatic from spreading the virus to others in the community.
Everyone should remember the phrase: “My mask protects you, your mask protects me.”
The order takes affect on April 19, 2020 at 8 PM.