Are you wearing a face covering in public? You should be, Manatee health officials say 

Manatee County health officials are urging all residents to wear cloth face coverings in public to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The advice follows a nationwide recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that was issued at the start of April.

“Homemade face coverings can prevent spread of COVID-19 to others,” the Florida Department of Health in Manatee County said in a press release on Thursday.

Wearing a face covering is especially important in circumstances where social distancing is hard to maintain, such as in grocery stores and pharmacies.

The health department reiterated guidance from the CDC on creating masks at home from available materials.

“Cloth face coverings fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost can be used as an additional, voluntary public health measure,” the health department quoted.

Medical grade equipment like surgical masks and N-95 respirators should continue to be reserved for healthcare workers.

“Those are critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for healthcare workers and other medical first responders, as recommended by current CDC guidance,” the health department advised.

To read more on the CDC’s guidance for creating and using homemade face coverings, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover.html.

This story was originally published April 23, 2020 at 4:30 PM.