Neighbors with sewing machines: We need you again

Whether you’re shopping at the grocery store or jogging on a crowded trail, you should be in a simple mask.

That’s the new rule when you’re in public and can’t do social distancing, according King County and Seattle officials.

Renate Ruby, who isn't getting many customers at her furniture shop Adorn, has been making free masks for neighbors. She's learned tricks: how to line the nose wire with foil so it bends right, how to cut strips from an old t-shirt for superior ear loops.

And she's about to get a whole lot more requests.

Public health officials say we need to wear masks in public because the economy's opening up a little, and we don't want to see that turn into a spike in Covid-19 cases.

Dr. Jeff Duchin leads King County's response to the pandemic. He says masks may be uncomfortable, but "We don’t want to go back to locking down communities. I’d much rather have people lock down their mouths and noses than lock down their neighborhoods."

The directive to wear a mask in public is not the law. The police aren’t going to enforce it. But many people are likely to follow the rule, because, according to King County Executive Dow Constantine, when local officials have made requests and explained the reason behind those requests, most people have complied. Not everyone, but enough to avoid completely overwhelming the health care system here.

Plus, reminders will soon be everywhere: playing over speakers on the Metro bus, for example. Some stores won't let you in without a mask, and all stores are being asked to post requests that you wear one.

Many employers will require them as a condition of employment. To this end, King County is working with restaurants, Executive Constantine said, to make sure they have a reliable source for masks.

Not everyone has equal access to masks. This includes essential workers in low income communities that need masks the most. That’s why Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan is giving thousands of masks to people who can’t get them. "The city of Seattle has 45,000 face coverings that we will be distributing to community based organizations," she said.

King County has another 115,000 masks to distribute.

That’s not enough for everybody.

Luckily, King County officials say your mask can be simple. Even a bandanna, tied correctly, is better than nothing.

But if you'd like to go further, you may want to send out the bat signal to your neighbor with the sewing machine.

All over Seattle, neighbors who sew have been developing some mad skills. With their Facebook offers of masks, they're part of the apparatus helping to normalize face coverings.

These neighbors may be a little tired of the requests, and of leaving masks on porches to be safely picked up by neighbors they never see face-to-face. But we're not done with them yet.

When this is pandemic is over, please bake them a pie.