Making the Mask

Crystal Ross Works on a face mask at her home in The Dalles. Photo by Dan Ross

By Tom Peterson

Whenever Crystal Ross sees someone wearing a face mask, “I want to thank them for that.”

The avid sewer had the makings of seven new masks on her sewing table. She also made several for the employees at the Baldwin Saloon in The Dalles. 

“I wear masks to protect other people, because you never know,” she said, noting some people don’t show symptoms of COVID-19 even though they are infected with it. 

While cotton masks are not a silver bullet against the disease, the vast majority of healthcare providers agree they do much to protect the spread of the disease when people are in close contact - less than 6 feet. They catch saliva and mucus droplets that could contain coronavirus when coughing and sneezing.

“It’s such a common sense thing to do,” Ross said, noting if it lowered your chances for getting or giving the disease, “why would you not do it?” 

Maybe there is an answer at the Hood River Care Center.

Resident Maggie Combs, 69, has been churning out the masks and giving them away for free - hundreds of masks. Caregiver Andrea Bransom Roberts is keeping a spreadsheet for Combs for people who call in and request a one. Call Andrea at 541-386-2688.

Maggie pointed out that her world got quite small when she went into the nursing home after an infection that required a portion of her heal bone to be removed. Her whole world exists inside the nursing home so small changes make a really big difference. In similar fashion, the world is now changing at such a rapid pace, we are forced to change with it and the mask is yet a big reminder of that, she said.

“People have a narrow tolerance for discomfort and don’t like change a bit,” she said. “They don’t want to wear them. They say it’s hard to breath. But it protects you and me. I wear it so other people don’t get sick. How much do you love your neighbor? This virus is absolutely no joke. They have us on lockdown here.”

Visitors can only view residents through windows and talk over phones.

“The government did not create this, China either - it’s a virus. It happens, stuff happens, we are not in control of it. So we keep our distance; we wear masks; hand wash. These are things we can do to be safer. But the fact of the matter is we are not in charge - that is we should do the things we can do so we can go back to normal,” she said.

At a recent Wasco County Commissioner special Meeting, Kate Wilson told the commissioners  there is a lot of social media saying that wearing a mask is government subversion – tyranny is the word they are using. That is a problem, especially in this climate of civil unrest. It impacts decision-making,” she told the court.

The onslaught of pandemic news, is no doubt, unnerving to the core for many. Civil unrest, the economy- it’s overwhelming. 

Several point out that no longer are they going to allow fear to dictate their lives. 

But masks should not equal fear, Ross said. They are a security in slowing or even thwarting the virus.

“It should be just like the small business revolution,” she said of a concerted effort by local businesses to bring a television show with marketing and money to The Dalles. “Why don’t we all get together and not have COVID.”

LATEST NUMBERS, JUNE 25, 2020

Here are the latest numbers for COVID 19 in Oregon:

Oregon Health Authority reported 124 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. today, bringing the state total to 7,568.

The new cases reported today are in the following counties: Benton (6), Clackamas (8), Clatsop (1), Coos (2), Deschutes (2), Klamath (13), Lake (3), Lane (5), Linn (2), Malheur (2), Marion (4), Morrow (1), Multnomah (29), Polk (2), Umatilla (8), Union (10), Wasco (1), Washington (24), and Yamhill (1).

Wasco County has a total of 56 cases; Sherman County, 1; Gilliam County, 0; Hood River, 88.

Maggie Combs at Hood River Care Center has been sewing masks by the hundreds with donated materials. She gives them away for free - she notes anyone who needs a mask can get one - just ask on facebook or otherwise as many in our communities are providing them. Photo by Andrea Bransom Roberts

Prevent Spread by Those Without Symptoms

While people who are sick or know that they have COVID-19 should isolate at home, COVID-19 can be spread by people who do not have symptoms and do not know that they are infected. That’s why it’s important for everyone to practice social distancing (staying at least 6 feet away from other people) and wear cloth face coverings in public settings. Cloth face coverings provide an extra layer to help prevent the respiratory droplets from traveling in the air and onto other people. Provided by the Centers for Disease Control