LEHIGHTON, Pa. — Governor Tom Wolf made the recommendation on Friday that everyone should wear a mask when leaving home. Are people taking it seriously? We let the camera roll outside of Mallard Markets in Lehighton to find out.
In the course of a half-hour, less than half of the people leaving the store were wearing a mask.
"Since the governor said to do it, I'm going to do it," said Elaine Dominic of Lehighton.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health says the purpose of wearing a face mask is not to protect yourself, but to protect those around you, in case you have the virus but are not showing symptoms.
"My feeling is, wear it because you never know if you are carrying something," said Irene Boscia of Lehighton.
One woman we spoke to says all of the stores are out of masks, so she just makes sure to wash her hands before and after leaving the house.
"I understand everybody's concerns with the masks and wearing the gloves, and I get it, but I live right across the street, so I just come out here for like five minutes, and then I go back in. So, I'm not really a part of the people that are going out all the time," said Naomee Riley of Lehighton.
The state department of health is asking people NOT to buy masks that are designed for healthcare workers, including surgical and N95 masks.
Instead, the state recommends making your own or buying one from an online small business.
At Mallard Markets, we saw a combination of surgical masks and homemade masks, such as bandannas.
"I have a son who's in construction work with fires, and he actually has the good ones. But when I put those on, I can't breathe. I just can't breathe through those things. That's why I wear this," said Elaine Dominic.
For more information from the Dept. of Health on homemade masks, click here.
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