GLACE BAY, N.S. — The Savoy Theatre is on a mission to make 761 protective face masks to give to people in the community during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Made out of industrial shop fabric, these masks will be given for free to volunteers helping deliver groceries and meals to people who can’t leave their home. They’ll also be given to families of front line workers if they want them, as well as anyone in the community who requests one, while supplies last.
“We’re trying to make 761 masks. That’s how many seats we have,” said Savoy Theatre executive director Pam Leader. “We’ll give them to whoever wants them.”
The World Health Organization recommends healthy people don’t need to wear masks, only people with COVID-19 or symptoms of COVID-19 and people who care for them. However, some public health experts are now saying wearing them might help limit spread. In his public address on April 7, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also said wearing masks could help protect people from contracting COVID-19.
Sarah Blanchard, one of the Savoy Theatre’s two costume designers, came up with the idea to make masks while public gatherings are prohibited as Canada battles the COVID-19 outbreak.
“I was inspired by larger national theatres refocusing their costume delays to make personal protective equipment and companies like Stanfield's here in Nova Scotia doing the same,” she said.
“I was worried with recent news that people who really need masks may run out of them or not be able to access any. We’ve been really lucky so far here in Cape Breton but we can be doing better at keeping each other healthy.”
Blanchard chose a design that fits around the nose, helping increase their effectiveness and comfort.
“I wear glasses, so if a mask doesn’t fit around my nose, I get steam vents on my glasses from my own breath escaping the mask. So I did a lot of research as to what type of pattern to use,” she explained.
“Originally, I was going to be making masks based on a pattern for surgical masks, but instead of cotton I’m using blue industrial shop towels, which online reports are indicating show they are a better material (for filtering).”
Over the past couple of days, Blanchard and her team have been perfecting the pattern and plan to have some ready for distribution on April 8. Although they can be washed with hand soap and air-dried, Blanchard said the masks can only be reused seven - 10 times.
It is unknown if wearing a face mask can help stop the spread of the new coronavirus which causes COVID-19.
As reported by the Saltwire Network, a research study published on April 3 in Nature Medicine found evidence that face masks can limit the spread of some influenza viruses and some coronaviruses.
However, the scientists involved said the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) which causes COVID-19 was not involved in the study. Thus, more research is needed to determine the effectiveness of face masks in stopping the spread of this one.
