Fabric store customers covet mask materials

As the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, people are lining up outside fabric stores to get material to make their own face masks.

Dozens of customers were waiting outside a JOANN Fabrics and Crafts store in Fairfax, Virginia hours before it opened.

The scene comes just days after the Centers for Disease Control issued a recommendation for the general public to wear cloth masks or face coverings in public places to help prevent the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Candice Hawkins, a medical provider from a local hospital, used her day off to get supplies and make face masks for her family and her co-workers.

She has seen more people get on board with the CDC's new mask recommendation, but thinks more people need to understand just how easily the coronavirus can spread.

"If we are around blood I don't care who you are, I'm going to use gloves and protect myself. So why wouldn't we do the same thing in this situation?" Hawkins said. "This is something that is respiratory, so you need to protect yourself from something that is maybe not so obvious."

Hawkins is planning to make dozens of machine-washable face coverings that can go over N95 masks to help preserve her medical facility's supply of Personal Protective Equipment, or PPE.

To date, JOANN Fabrics customers and store partners have donated more than 40 million masks to medical facilities in need.

The company's goal is to reach 100 million mask donations, and customer Joel Clark is doing what he can to help.

"It's a good thing to do with my daughter, to try to interact with her, but also help her understand that it's beneficial for other people during this time and hopefully that is something she can learn from," Clark said.

Fabric stores remain open in certain states, counties and cities that have deemed them as "essential" businesses.

A public relations representative for JOANN Fabrics said in some cases stores have been closed, and in some they are operating only as curbside pickup locations for online orders.

Hawkins said she drove 30 miles to pick her supplies, and is motivated by the outpouring of support for professions that need masks.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.