San Juan Regional Medical Center, San Juan County and the city of Farmington ask everyone to follow President Donald Trump’s recommendation to wear a mask when going out in public.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now recommending wearing a mask or cloth face covering in public settings to help reduce community-based transmission of COVID-19.
While a mask won’t protect people from becoming ill, it does help protect others in the event that a person has COVID-19 and isn’t showing symptoms yet. Wearing a mask should not give a sense of false security. Everyone should still follow the state of New Mexico’s orders to stay at home whenever possible. This is another tool in our toolbox to help flatten the curve and slow the spread of this virus.
The general public should not be using surgical masks or N-95 respirators that are critically needed by health care workers. A simple cloth face covering is sufficient to slow the spread of the virus.
There are many people in the community making these masks. Masks should be laundered regularly to ensure they are clean and free of germs. Do not to remove the mask and set it down, as this increases the risk of transmission when putting back on. It is also important to avoid touching the mask without first washing or cleaning hands with alcohol based hand sanitizer.
