The CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, including grocery stores and pharmacies, especially in areas of significant community-based transmission.
Recent studies show that many people with coronavirus are asymptomatic, and that even those who eventually develop symptoms are pre-symptomatic and can transmit the virus to others before showing symptoms.
This means that the virus can spread between people interacting in close proximity—for example, speaking, coughing, or sneezing—even if those people are not exhibiting symptoms.
While maintaining 6-feet social distancing remains important CDC is additionally advising the use of simple cloth face coverings to slow the spread of COVID-19, and help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others.
Cloth face coverings fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost can be used as an additional, voluntary public health measure.
The cloth face coverings recommended are not surgical masks or N-95 respirators. Those are critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for healthcare workers and other medical first responders, as recommended by current CDC guidance.
This cloth face mask requires no sewing, and only uses two rubber bands and a t-shirt:
More from CDC:
Should cloth face coverings be washed or otherwise cleaned regularly? How regularly?
Yes. They should be routinely washed depending on the frequency of use.
How does one safely sterilize/clean a cloth face covering?
A washing machine should suffice in properly washing a face covering.
How does one safely remove a used cloth face covering?
Individuals should be careful not to touch their eyes, nose, and mouth when removing their face covering and wash hands immediately after removing.
More instructions on making face coverings, both with sewing and no-sew. You can even put a coffee filter inside the layers of the cloth mask.