From home, Oconeean sews facial masks

From a sewing machine in her Oconee County home, a retired health care worker has been churning out face masks out of cotton and elastic materials. She’s doing her part to help friends and neighbors protect against catching COVID-19. Gabrielle (not her real name) believes each of us should do what we can to help others. Hers is a talent to sew and, from her career in the medical world, she knows what today’s front line workers need and are short of. Prisma Health needs N-95 masks, face shields, goggles and the like. But, in a statement, the healthcare organization said, “At this time, Prisma Health is not accepting homemade masks for healthcare workers. Yet Gabrielle got a call from one medical facility in need of masks for its patients.” She concluded our talk by encouraging people to reach out to neighbors, even if it’s just a phone call. “If we stick together, I believe we can do this.”