You've no doubt heard that hospital workers are facing a critical shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), including face masks to guard against coronavirus infection. Some volunteers are sewing or 3D printing masks to be used by health care professionals.
But the standard mask to protect workers from infected droplets is the N-95 mask, which is often used in construction. Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity donated their supply of 7,500 N-95 masks to local hospitals in Minneapolis/St. Paul. If you've done any construction, or even a remodeling or painting project at your home, you may also have some N-95 respirator masks in the leftover supplies.
A thread at reddit showed how finding extra N-95 masks can be a treasure for hospitals. It inspired others to look around for household N-95 masks, and numerous health care workers relayed their gratitude. Even expired masks can help.
Call your local hospital to see if they need any gear you may have. PPE Link is a website trying to coordinate donations of masks and other protective gear. Read more about the project here. Another resource is #findthemasks. Every little bit helps.
(Image credit: splashattack)