Where did all the masks go?
Since even before the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the Coronavirus, COVID-19, had become a pandemic, masks have been flying off the shelves. Both civilians and corporate companies alike were buying masks in bulk. And now, health care professionals are scrambling for the minimum amount of personal protective equipment — gloves, gowns, eye gear, and masks — that they need to do their jobs, the New York Times reported.
However, not all masks have been proven to protect against COVID-19 and experts told the New York Times that most masks are not even effective in protecting the general public from getting the virus. The only mask that is said to work as a barrier against the disease is the N95 surgical mask with a close seal around the nose and mouth and a built-in respirator.
But that hasn’t stopped people all over from making their own masks and the best mask we’ve seen — besides the N95 mask — has got to be women’s bras. This week, women all over the world have been taking their old bra cups and straps to secure the underwear to their faces as a makeshift mask.
One Australian blogger, Constance Hall — or “mum” as she’s commonly called by her brood of six kids — posted that she has been making masks out of anything she has on hand when she has to go into shops. Hall shared one day that all she had on hand was her bra and that it made a “rather convenient face mask,” Hall posted on Instagram on Monday, March 23.
“Now I’m a big t**ter girl, but I also have a big face, some of you have small t*ts and big faces, big t*ts and small faces, everyone’s different but in all of our differences we have one thing in common, we don’t want to spread C***vid 19 and we own a bra,” Hall wrote. “So let’s band together and share breasts not breath by whipping it off, flopping them out and masking up.”
Dani Slocki — a Brooklyn-based activist and Director of Partnerships and Special Events at House of Yes — posted an Instagram video on Wednesday, March 25, of herself wearing an old bra of her own as a mask.
“Friends, #bros, #bras, while you’re spring cleaning consider reusing materials at home for #masks,” Slocki captioned the post.
Slocki shared that bras have everything you could want in a mask: elastic and a pouch to breathe.
Though bra masks are a quick fix in this pinch, there is no proof that any masks besides the N95 is even effective. But, like Hall said, if we must, let’s share breasts — not breath — to help put an end to this pandemic sooner rather than later.
If you want to make your own, find a tutorial below.
Top Photo by Pablo Heimplatz via Unsplash
More From BUST
“The Farewell” Director Lulu Wang And More Are Bringing Necessary Face Masks To The Frontlines
3 New Must-Read Books On Feminism, Gender, And Current Issues
Workouts To Keep Your Body Moving This Quarantine Season
