Masks protect everyone. Even if they are homemade. Therefore:

#maskonnow

The idea: If all people moving in public space wear nose and mouth masks the spread of the coronavirus could be slowed down. Because surgical masks are for use in the medical field, we make our masks ourselves.

This is now we protect everyone.

3 simple rules on how you can save the world from the virus:

I stay at home.

I wash my hands.

When I’m outside, I wear a homemade mask and keep distance. #maskonnow

What do masks do?

Make a mask yourself!

Click on one of the icons to get to the respective instructions.

Why #maskonnow

The risk of infection can be reduced considerably if we all wear a mask. But how does this work?

Prof. Christian Drosten, virologist at the Charité Berlin: “We can assume that 44 percent of all infections took place before the infecting person was even sick.”

Source NDR Podcast

1.

The main mode of transmission appears to be droplet infection, i.e. when an infected person coughs, sneezes or has a wet pronunciation. Source

2.

Even though you do not have any symptoms, you can still have the virus and infect other people. This is especially true when you are young, because young people often do not even notice the disease. So a mask protects the others from you prophylactically. Source

3.

Staying at home is the very best protection. But each of us has to go out sometime. And that’s when we can infect people or be infected ourselves. We can greatly reduce this risk by wearing a mask. Even homemade masks can help. Source

Why is #maskonnow so effective?

Above all, masks protect others from you. So if everybody wear a mask, everybody will be better protected. Which studies prove this?

#maskonnow only works if you follow these rules:

  • Most importantly: wearing the DIY mask does not replace washing your hands, stay at home and keep your distance.
  • Change fabric mask as soon as it is damp and wash at least 60 degrees after each use or boil for 5 minutes.
  • Do not touch the mask when wearing it. What other rules are particularly important?

Send us a picture of your self-made mask! This will be the most sensible fashion trend of all time.

Post your photo with the hashtag #maskonnow

Instructions for tinkering yourself:

Tweet from Prof. Christian Drosten on 21 March 2020: “Even in Hong Kong protective masks are in short supply. DIY-instructions.”

Change your mask as soon as it is wet and be sure to clean it after each use!

Here is all the information you need to put on and take off your mask correctly

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

  1.   They do not protect the wearer reliably from infection.
  2.   There is a shortage of surgical masks, because so many people bought some recently. The public authorities advised against wearing these mask and leave them to the medical staff.
  3.   Unlike in other countries, such as Japan, we are not used to wearing masks in public. But this could probably change, couldn’t it?

Currently many people feel anxious and are afraid of the coronavirus. And in Germany we are not used to wearing face masks. So please show some understanding for their initial reaction. We recommend explaining to them friendly why you are wearing the mask: because it protects. In fact not you. But the others from you. It is a gesture of solidarity and caution. Everybody will understand that.

We do not have sufficient scientific evidence that DIY masks protect you from infection. But this is not about you. You wear a mask to protect others from you if you are already contagious. You don’t have to show any symptoms to spread the virus.

If you wear a mask, the focus is not on you. It is a matter of protecting others from you, if you are already contagious. You don’t have to show any symptoms to spread the virus.

We are not experts or doctors. But we know this: Via droplet infection from those who already have the virus. So please always keep distance, avoid touching your face, wash your hands and, if possible, stay at home.

You can find important information on the WHO or CDC websites at https://www.who.int/

We are not experts or doctors. But we know this: The coronavirus is spread via droplet infection from those who already have the virus. So please always keep distance, wash your hands and, if possible, stay at home.You can find important information on the WHO or CDC websites at

https://www.who.int/

https://www.cdc.gov/

Basically many materials can be used to make a mask: Cloth from T-shirts or pillowcase, dish towels and kitchen paper, vacuum cleaner bags.

Here you can find a great overview on the following questions: Which materials keep out the virus best? Which solution is practical and effective? According to the study of Cambridge University, which mask should I use? Spoiler alert: The winners are the T-shirt and the pillowcase.

https://smartairfilters.com/

Currently, surgical masks are not freely available to buy. The supply is very short, because in the past few weeks, many people have stripped the shelves of them. For the moment, new supply remains reserved for medical facilities. However, the production in this country starts and imports increase. Hopefully we will soon have enough masks for everyone. But until then, please make a mask yourself, it works just as well.

 

Quelle Universität Cambridge

Supporters:

Charlotte Roche

Jan Böhmermann

Perica Stojnić

Antje Tiefenthal

Lena Meyer-Landrut

Claire Oelkers

Stefan Gödde

Daniel Aminati

Anne Will

Dr. Mark Benecke

Samira El Ouassil

Julia Gerecke

Katrin Weiden

Jeannine Michaelsen

Mario Sixtus

Ines Anioli

Tobias Mücksch

Friedemann Karig

Carolin Kebekus

BVG Weil wir dich lieben

Joko Winterscheidt

Lena Gerecke

Stephan Phin Spielhoff

Ariane Alter

Christiane Stenger

Laura Karasek

Bund deutscher Kriminalbeamter

Eckart von Hirschhausen

Who we are

#maskonnow is a private initiative, which doesn’t receive funding from or is linked to governmental or non-governmental organizations.

Christiane Stenger, Friedemann Karig, Jan Stremmel, Samira El Ouassil, Christian Hundertmark (graphic), Julia Gerecke, Peri Stojnić (Homepage), Tobi Terwort, Tobias Mücksch (IT infrastructure) Kwami Tendar (cut), Johannes Hutner (cut), Linda Seiss (translation), Katrin Weiden (editing) und Mariann Köhler (graphic), Niklaus Hofer, Uber Eck (graphic), Sebastian Struch (graphic), Luise Wunner (product), Pamara Schele (social media), Anja Faist (international), Stefanie Siegmund (graphic), Kimya Justus (illustration)

Contact

If you have any questions or if you want to help, please contact us here.

Further studies and articles:

Read more on the importance of masks for fighting the coronavirus here and here and here.

We would like to thank

Transline and Lingualife for the translations of this site in over 20 languages!

Downloads

In the attachment you will find a link to the sharepics