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The spread of new coronavirus can be a scary thing, but businesses and volunteers have stepped up to do their part. Michele Oswald, sale representative at the Republic-Monitor, is making masks for the University of Missouri Hospital in Columbia.
“I have a friend who’s a pathologist at Mizzou, but for right now the masks will be going to labor and delivery nurses.”
The country is currently experiencing a shortage of N-95 masks, of which is in high demand, while Oswald is not making noted the she will make 50 masks, 25 masks for day shift workers, and 25 for night shift workers at the hospital.
“I had seen that the CDC says that homemade masks are better than nothing,” Oswald said. “I reached out to my friend because she is one of the only nurses I know and she said she would take whatever she can get.”
The nurses are getting one N-95 mask per nurse that they must make last until the end of the pandemic, but they are accepting homemade styles.
“Mine are not the N-95 styles, they are more like surgical masks with the pleats in the center,” Oswald said. “They are just wearing mine over their N-95 masks.”
Oswald has been a seamstress for quite awhile and has a stockpile of elastic she will use for the masks, but she has found a way around it, when she eventually runs out.
“I do have a decent stockpile of elastic, but I know that I will run out,” Oswald said. “Dollar Tree and Dollar General both have these elastic headbands that I will cut in half and use.”
After Oswald finishes those 50 masks she will continue to reach out to others in need.
“I have a friend that’s a nurse in ICU in Kansas City and I’ll probably reach out to her next,” Oswald said.
She isn’t the only one that is helping out in these tough times. Debbie Statler of Grandma Bea’s Natural Products in Perryville, has distributed her homemade hand sanitizer to sell at local businesses.
“We’ve been selling them stores in need and selling them at normal price,” Statler said. “I don’t want people to think that I’m making money off the situation. The sanitizer is something I already sell.”
Statler wholesales the product to all eight Buchheit locations, as well has several businesses in Cape Girardeau and Benton, along with multiple states.
“Unfortunately, the product is in high demand right now,” Statler said.
It’s in such high demand that Statler noted that last year, Grandma Bea’s store sold just over 80 units of sanitizer. In response to the COVID-19 crisis, Statler has sold thousands of containers.
It’s hard to come up with containers and the aloe and alcohol, which are in short supply right now,” Statler said. “One store I service told me just to put it in whatever containers I have available, so I’ve started to sell gallons for them because they sell to a medical facility.”
Statler said it has been “terrible” to attempt to keep up with demand.
“You just can’t find the supplies,” Statler said. “It’s ben getting a little better I guess, but container have been hard to come by. I’ve had some supplies ordered since March 2 and they have been on back order.”
