The global COVID-19 pandemic has people understandably worried about catching a potentially deadly disease, causing many to take extreme precautionary measures.

This is on full display when one goes to the grocery store where people have been seen wearing all manner of personal protective equipment, including masks and gloves. The use of masks increased greatly after the Centers for Disease Control began recommending that all Americans wear cloth masks to cut down on the spread of COVID-19.

But even before the CDC’s recommendation, it’s become a common sight to see people wearing them improperly. Another problem is that people are wearing medical-grade N95 masks that are in short supply. This has been particularly problematic for medical professionals who desperately need these masks, but cannot get them for their work in saving the lives of COVID-19 patients.

When it comes to how people use gloves let me put it this way, people don’t know what they are doing when their wear gloves. This results in a false sense of security and when they don’t handle the gloves properly they still leave themselves vulnerable from touch surfaces that could be covered in the coronavirus.

Then after they touch these things, they touch their clothes, phones, face or hair. And then some are not taking off or disposing of your gloves correctly.

For the use of masks, it is much more helpful if people would wear cloth masks that they can wash and reuse than the N95 masks that are desperately needed by frontline workers who have a higher chance of coming into close contact with a carrier of the virus.

It makes me upset to see people wearing N95 masks at the grocery store because my mother, who works in the medical field, told me a story about how one mask had to be used for one patient and her coworker said there was lipstick from a previous nurse that wasn’t hers on it.
A big consequence of the members of the general public using N95 masks is the problem of supply, demand, and necessity.

“We are having to reuse, sterilize, and store our masks because there’s not enough,” said Kelly Chandler, a registered nurse at St. David’s Hospital. The number of masks is limited. Most of the demand is from non-medical workers, but it’s the medical practitioners that need them the most.”
There are other important precautions that people can take besides masks and gloves.

Wash your hands and don’t touch your face or near your face. After being out in public immediately clean your hands so you don’t touch your steering wheel with the virus. Simply cleaning your hands thoroughly can lower your chances of catching the virus.

Instead of wearing N95s, wear homemade cloth ones, painters masks, etc. They can still do their job especially if you stay six feet away from people.

To help stop the spread of this virus, flatten the curve, and stay safe by practicing basic hygiene. Also, stay six feet away from other people, and avoid going out when you can.