Health-care professionals in El Reno are urging residents to use some form of facial mask or protection when they venture out in public.

“I think this is a fantastic idea and is one that is very much needed. The more people who do wear masks, the more normal it will seem. The more we normalize wearing masks, it will be beneficial,” said Centennial Health nurse practitioner Sarah Menz.

The COVID-19 pandemic has produced 304,826 confirmed cases in the United States and 7,616 deaths through Sunday.

In Oklahoma as of Monday, there have been 1,327 in-state positive tests with 51 deaths, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Health.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does urge people to use some sort of homemade face covering when they cannot use social distancing guidelines in places like stores and pharmacies.

“I think everyone should be wearing masks now. It’s a CDC recommendation and it’s an important thing to do when you cannot limit going out. It’s something you can do along with social distancing,” said Healthcare One owner and nurse practitioner Brad Redden.

Other Oklahoma towns have answered the CDC call with Guthrie putting into effect a mandatory mask rule for anyone venturing outside as of midnight Monday.

The city of Kingfisher ordered 2,000 masks from a local manufacturer that will be passed out at various locations in the town.

Both El Reno professionals agree that homemade masks are an easy and inexpensive way people can help curb the possible spread of COVID-19.

“It will take everyone doing everything they can do to help stop the spread and face masks are easy and cheap to do,” said Menz.

Redden said the best way residents can help prevent exposure to the virus is to shelter in place.

“It’s a piece of protection but it’s not the end-all of protection,” Redden said, referring to the masks. “The big thing is to stay at home. I encourage people to use curbside pickup and delivery services as much as possible,” he said.

Menz agrees.

“Most homemade masks will not provide any filtering but it will give you some protection if the guy next to you at the store sneezes or coughs. They will keep you from getting some of the particles or droplets of human fluid that could contain the virus.

“The masks also give you some barrier from spreading any fluid if you were to sneeze or cough,” said Menz.

Another false truth both professionals say needs to be corrected is that masks are just “for the sick.” Such comment was made by a customer on Monday at the El Reno Post Office. The United States Postal Service is allowing its workers to wear either homemade masks or the surgical style masks that USPS provides.

“That’s just not true,” said Menz.

The masks that health-care professionals use for severe virus threats are N-95 respirators and are made by manufacturers with complex filtering systems. Those masks, used in conjunction with personal protection equipment or PPEs (caps, gloves and gowns) have come into short supply of late in cities across the nation and in Oklahoma.

Both Menz and Redden said their clinics have versions of the N-95 masks to use when seeing patients that are showing signs of COVID-19.

“We can do testing in our office and we have seen patients that have been showing signs. It’s inevitable through daily life that we will see more cases here and we can test and evaluate them.

“We have the ability to have a clean side and a sick side so that we can segregate people to make sure we are not contaminating a large group of people,” said Redden.

Healthcare One uses Diagnostic Laboratory of Oklahoma to test any samples of the virus that it collects. DLO is one of the private labs authorized by the state to do COVID-19 testing.

Menz said people not involved with the front lines of health care should refrain from buying the N-95 masks, which come in different variations.

“Anyone that goes out and buys medical grade masks is not helping the cause,” said Menz.

Both professionals said they are using surgical masks when seeing patients but will switch to the N-95 protection if a patient falls into the category of COVID-19 symptoms.

“We are wearing surgical-style masks we have in stock,” said Menz.

One thing both Healthcare One and Centennial Health are doing is seeing patients, new or existing, online first and setting up an in-office visit when the need warrants.

“We are using masks in the office but we are also using virtual visits or telemedicine,” said Redden.

The CDC has step-by-step instructions on how to make cloth masks on its website (www.cdc.gov), but here are a few tips:

▶ Use natural materials like cotton.

▶ Make sure masks have at least four layers.

▶ Coffee filters or vacuum filters can be used in pockets stitched into the folds.

▶Masks should be routinely washed.

▶ Don’t touch eyes, nose or mouth while wearing or removing masks. Wash hands immediately after removing masks.