A NEWCASTLE woman is using her sewing skills to make face masks for medics working on the frontline of the coronavirus battle.
Rita Longlands is also helping to address the current shortage in protective face masks for pensioners and the vulnerable who feel more at risk from the impact of COVID-19.
Sixty-five year-old Rita is making the face masks for free using a template she got online and says she will do everything she can to help people in need.
She said: “I started last week and have made well over 300. Two enthusiastic helpers have come on board to help me.
“It is important to point out these masks will not prevent the spread of the virus, but they will certainly slow it down. The masks capture a cough or a sneeze in time, as a tissue may not always be at hand.
“The masks will also help safeguard those who wear them. They do alleviate the anxiety and fear of catching or spreading the virus.”
She ped off 15 masks to the surgery in Ballyward last week and has also been handing them out to local nursing homes, along with templates so that they can make more of them if needed.
Rita, who is usually more accustomed to taking ‘knit ’n’ natter’ classes at the Donard Fold in the town, says she has been inundated with donations of material since embarking upon her project.
“Local people have donated duvet covers which I wash in Dettol before using them,” she explained. “A local draper, Mr Fred Wadsworth, gave me almost 60 metres of elastic. He was generous not to charge me and I am very appreciative of his kind gesture.
“My home looks more like a sweat shop at the moment with the drive to get the masks out to the people who need them.”
Good news travels fast and Rita’s story is no exception — she has even received a request from a local man living in Seoul in South Korea to have two masks dropped off for his sister and his father who live in King Street.
Rita insists that her masks are only for those that really need them and are not for “every Tom, Dick or Harry”.
She said: “The masks do alleviate the fear that elderly have during this pandemic. It makes them feel more comfortable in their surroundings and the masks also mean that carers don’t have to put their neck on the line for us — that’s what makes it all worthwhile.
“If I can sew them, then that’s a contribution that I’m happy to make.”