WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — Trinh Tran lives in Wilkes-Barre and FaceTimed with Newswatch 16 to give us a look inside her family's living room. It has become an assembly line where her mother and two aunts are busy making homemade face masks.
"They started yesterday, and they make a hundred so far until today," said Tran. "Here's some masks they made so far, and there's a bunch over there."
Tran acted as a translator for her family members while they turned cotton fabric into the homemade masks and told us the inspiration behind the effort.
"They want to help the hospital by making the masks for the hospital for volunteers because they want to help with the coronavirus," explained Tran.
Tran's family members would normally be working, but are not working because of the governor's non-essential business shutdown, but she tells Newswatch 16 they are not letting the skills they use at those jobs go to waste.
"This is Hong Le, she's my mom, she normally works in the Men's Warehouse, and this is my aunt she works in the nail shop," explained Tran.
The CDC says homemade masks should only be used as a last resort as their ability to protect against COVID-19 is unknown. If there are worn, they should be used in combination with a face shield that covers the front and sides of the face.
These ladies are aware of the recommendations but want to help any way they can.
"They watch on TV every day, so they want to help the nurses the doctors in the hospital who don't have masks to get them masks to help fighting the coronavirus," said Tran.
Tran says her family plan to create 1,000 masks and donate them to hospitals in Wilkes-Barre.