Coronavirus In Colorado: How To Make A Face Shield At Home

DENVER (CBS4) - A doctor based in Denver has been increasingly worried face masks alone are not enough to protect against the transmission of the coronavirus. She's found a way to give people an extra layer of protection that nearly anyone can make at home.

Dr. Stacey Folk is a plastic surgeon at Folk Plastic Surgery. She told CBS4 sometimes it's hard for people to cough into their elbow in time, or cover their mouths. That's why she began looking into face shields.

"I don't think this is something earth shattering, that everybody needs to make a face shield, but if you are someone that touches your face a lot, if you are going to be a situation like maybe in the store where you will be really close to people standing in line, this might be that reminder not to bring your hands up to your face and if someone accidentally coughs or sneezes right next to you and right at you, it might give you a little bit of protection," Folk said.

All that's required to make this yourself is a clear 2-liter soda bottle, string, and scissors. A hole puncher is optional.

Folk's first direction is to cut out the plastic from the middle of the bottle, then adjust the size to fit your head. Once you're done with measurements, she said to mark and punch through the corners and run a string through, possibly shoelaces if available.

It may not seem like much, but if this is worn over a face mask, Folk said it could help shield from respiratory droplets, that's what comes out when people cough or sneeze, and that's what causes the spread of infection.

"Most primary care offices don't have splash guards, there's not a need for them, but in this environment, they might want to be wearing something like that over their mask. People that work in food service, that work in drive-thrus, they want to protect themselves a little bit more than they would and you can't just order these right now. There's a huge backlog."

While she hopes perhaps a local manufacturing company will consider helping to produce and donate more face shields like these to health care workers, anyone who wants to make these at home could benefit to protect against COVID-19.

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