If you’re like me, you may have found the number and variety of instructions to make home-made face masks to be overwhelming. There are countless how-to’s online, from YouTube tutorials on fashioning coverings out of bandanas to detailed guides on sewing masks from various corners of the crafting community. After looking closely at dozens of these I found that most of the guides actually follow essentially the same rules: no matter which pattern or method you choose, the face mask should work as long as it fits well and covers your mouth and nose coverings, while still allowing you to breathe normally.
As someone who can barely repair a broken button, I consulted TIME senior editor (and amateur seamstress) Lily Rothman for her expertise. She made a face mask using designs adapted from Deaconess Health and the Medical College of Wisconsin and Froedtert Hospital—we figured designs approved by medical professionals but still easy enough to make at home would be the best options. See more about how Lily sewed a mask here.
However, that design requires a sewing machine and nimble fingers. If you’re like me in terms of sewing skills, there are some easier methods. I managed to make a comfortable mask from a clean handkerchief using hair ties to attach it behind my ears and another one from an old, cut up T-shirt that I tied behind my head. For my particular head and face shape, the mask made from the T-shirt was slightly better fitting; for you, the results will likely depend on the size of your head and the amount of material you have to make a mask. After testing both versions for TIME, I kept them folded on my windowsill for future use. The next time I venture out for groceries and other supplies, I’ll be sure to wear one.
The latest recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control are for everyone, even those who are healthy, to wear face masks—but as TIME senior health writer Mandy Oaklander recently reported , they don’t include surgical masks (loose-fitting covers that are meant to block large droplets of liquid) or N95 respirators (tight-fitting facial coverings that filter out small particles). The U.S. is facing a severe supply shortage of surgical masks and N95 respirators. Homemade face masks offer limited protection at best (according to the best current science), but that, the CDC and other public health experts say, is still better than nothing at this point. Still, more important is to keep washing your hands, avoid touching your face, and maintain physical distance from others.
A week ago, a tiger at the Bronx Zoo tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 in humans. But that doesn’t mean your pet cat is in danger as tigers and domesticated cats aren’t even the same species, experts told TIME reporter Jasmine Aguilera. Around the world, more than 1 million humans have tested positive for COVID-19 but “we’ve only seen four domestic animals test positive so far worldwide, so the risk is very minimal [for COVID-19] to get to pets,” says William Sander, assistant professor of preventive medicine and public health, at the University of Illinois’ College of Veterinary Medicine. Read more here.
COVID-19 Is Largely Sparing Kids. Doctors Are Stumped
One trend of the current coronavirus pandemic has been equal parts encouraging and confounding for experts: for the most part, children don’t seem to be getting the disease. “I can’t think of another situation in which a respiratory infection only affects adults so severely,” says Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, chair of the committee on infectious diseases at the American Academy of Pediatrics. Right now, doctors don’t have any explanation stronger than a theory. One of those, experts told TIME senior health writer Alice Park, has to do with the fact that the breathing trouble associated with COVID-19 actually comes from people’s immune systems shifting into overdrive; it’s possible, doctors say, that kids’ immune systems don’t respond quite so strongly, which could spare them respiratory consequences. Read more here.
Foreign Spies Are Targeting Americans on Zoom
The Zoom platform—which has grown increasingly popular around the world as the coronavirus pandemic keeps more and more people in social isolation—is not only filled with vulnerabilities that leave users susceptible to Zoombombing; it is also being used by foreign spies to obtain sensitive information. John Walcott, TIME foreign policy and national security reporter, spoke to three U.S. intelligence officials to learn about how foreign spies have targeted Zoom. “While the Chinese, Russians, and others are targeting virtually every tool Americans and others are using now that they’re forced to work from home, Zoom is an attractive target, especially for China,” Walcott reports. Read more here.
Coronavirus Is Changing How We Date
Single people, especially millennials and those of Gen Z, are facing a uniquely isolating experience right now. As they lose chunks of the time of life when friendships and romantic relationships are forged, and families started, many are starting to feel a sense of dread, writes TIME staff reporter Eliana Doctorman. The best—and really only—solution for most is to double down on online dating, with first, second, and third dates all happening on video chat. Some singles report positive changes as a result: forced to talk one-on-one with nothing else to look at, the focus turns to the quality of the conversation. But, as University of California, Berkeley sociologist Dacher Keltner notes. “Every relationship has been built and held together by complicated nonverbal language, beginning with parent and child. It’s part of our social fabric. I worry about what happens when as a society we lose those modes of communication for a time.” Read more here.
HEROES FROM THE FRONTLINES
This week, we published dozens of stories for a special report called “Heroes from the Front Lines,” which looks at the toll the COVID-19 pandemic is taking on health care and other essential workers still clocking in every day. Here are some of our favorites:
In the Eye of the Storm
Danny Kim is many things: a photographer, a paramedic, a husband—and, now, one of the workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kim kept a visual record of a recent week in his shoes, recording the harrowing work of a paramedic at the epicenter of New Jersey’s coronavirus outbreak by photographing intubations, house calls and everything in between. Read Kim’s story here.
Riding Along with Medic 61
TIME national correspondent Charlotte Alter spent a day with Westchester County, N.Y. paramedic Alanna Badgley—who goes by the radio call sign “Medic 61”—as she took 11 emergency calls. Nine, Alter reports, were for suspected cases of COVID-19. Read Badgley’s story here.
Flight Attendants Fear They Are Losing the Fight
America’s roughly 119,000 flight attendants are exempt government guidelines to self-quarantine after traveling to high-risk areas or potential exposure. TIME Washington correspondent Vera Bergengruen spoke to many who believe that they’re become vectors of the disease, and are appalled that no one in positions of authority seem to care. Read their stories here.
Inside the Army Corps of Engineers’ Race to Build Hospitals
TIME national security correspondent W.J. Hennigan offers readers a glimpse of what it’s like for the Army Corps of Engineers to construct emergency coronavirus hospitals. Read their stories here.
‘It’s Tough to Reconcile Being Both Celebrated and Villainized’
COVID-19 has ushered in an ugly wave of anti-Asian racism at the same time it has inspired unprecedented respect for health care workers. As a result, New York City physician Dr. Chen Fu is living a strange double life. Read Fu’s story here.
Thinking Outside the Hospital
The COVID-19 front lines extend far beyond doctor’s offices and ambulances. Grocery clerks, delivery people, social workers, cafeteria employees and many, many others are still reporting for duty. Read their stories here.
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