COVID-19: Making Face Masks for Coast Guard AcƟ ve Duty

COVID-19: Making Face Masks for Coast Guard Active Duty

The Coast Guard has issued a policy eff ecƟ ve immediately direcƟ ng its members to wear face masks, “…to the extent pracƟ cal as determined by unit COs/OICs, when onboard USCG assets, property, facility, installaƟ on, or when conducƟ ng offi cial USCG business in a public seƫ ng where social distancing measures are not able to be maintained, all Coast Guard personnel are required to wear cloth face covering when they cannot appropriately social distance themselves from others by maintaining six feet of physical separaƟ on.” Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, all personal protecƟ ve equipment (PPE), including face masks, is in short supply. For this reason, “surgical masks should be worn as a last resort and only with command concurrence. N95 respirators shall not be used for this purpose. “For iniƟ al implementaƟ on, either home-fabricated or personally procured non-medical cloth face coverings following Centers for Disease Control and PrevenƟ on guidance are acceptable. Homemade and do-it-yourself “(DIY) cloth masks or personallyprocured are the preferred opƟ on for non-operaƟ onal use.” “Face coverings are approved for wear in uniform. Cloth face coverings of neutral solid coloring (e.g., navy blue, black, gray or white) are preferred. However, other colors and paƩ erns are permiƩ ed if they are workplace appropriate.” To assist the Coast Guard in meeƟng the demand for cloth face coverings, several District 7 Auxiliary members have volunteered to sew cloth face masks. Members wishing to parƟ cipate should follow the guidelines outlined in ALCOAST 124/20 https://www.uscgboating.org/multimedia/newsdetail.php?id=532 Making face masks is not tricky. LiƩle to no prior sewing experience is required. The best way to learn is to search for “how-to” videos. Many are available on YouTube and other video plaƞ orms. Try hƩ ps://www.youtube. com/watch?v=FW1TCQDN4do to start, but search for and watch several videos. Just be sure to follow the guidelines for type of fabric (coƩ on) and preferred colors (neutral). Per COMO Gary Barth, “Once the masks are made and ready for donaƟ on, contact the Auxiliary Sector Coordinator to arrange delivery to the acƟ ve duty. Members should not aƩ empt to enter Coast Guard facili

Ɵ es on their own. ...Please conƟ nue to uƟ lize the safeguards to prevent spreading and contracƟ ng the COVID-19 virus. Thank you for all you do, especially during this criƟ - cal Ɵ me.” Ω

One of many “how-to” videos available on sewing face masks can be found at hƩ ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW1TCQDN4do .

“Once the masks are made and ready for donation, contact the Auxiliary Sector Coordinator to arrange delivery to the active duty”