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Seymour mother, son make free disposable masks for local grocery store goers

The homemade paper towel masks are at the front of the store for those who may not have protection. They hope their idea will spread so the virus doesn't.

SEYMOUR, Tenn. — A mother, son duo in Seymour are taking the safety of grocery store trips into their own hands by making free, disposable masks.

The masks are single-use for people to take before entering Kroger so more people's faces are covered while shopping. Now, they want the idea to expand to other communities.

It's a simple concept. Lisa Griffith and her son Gray Griffith make the masks out of household items: paper towels, paper clips, glue and rubber bands.

They started making the masks and offering them for free at the entrance of the Seymour Kroger about a week ago. They put the masks in small plastic bags or tissue paper and then staple them to a standing board.

People are able to tear the bags off the board and use the masks inside to cover their mouth and nose while in the store.

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"I didn't want anybody to have an excuse for not wearing a mask for when they're in the grocery store," Lisa Griffith said.

The CDC recommends wearing some sort of cloth mask in public. These paper towel masks aren't meant to be reused and are very thin, but are better protection than wearing nothing.

"It's really going to help the asymptomatic people who don't know they have it and stop them from when they're talking, just the general spit that comes out when you're talking," Gray Griffith explained.

The pair replenishes the board every day. So far, about 400 masks have been taken, but they're hoping to cover more ground with help from others.

"If a couple other people got interested in doing this, I would help any way I could that these could be in every store in the Knoxville area," Lisa Griffith explained.

There's a tutorial on YouTube on how to make the masks. Lisa Griffith also set up the email address grocerystoremasks@gmail.com for people to inquire who may be interested in contributing.

"Whenever you think about the scope of it all, it makes you consider you need more hands," Gray Griffith said.

Overall, they want this idea to spread, so the virus doesn't.

"If you covered the whole city, it would be amazing how many people would cover their mouths," Lisa Griffith said.

The Griffiths have permission to set up their mask board on the sidewalk near the entrance of the Seymour Kroger. They wanted to emphasize the masks may not protect you from getting sick, but are helpful in stopping the spread in water droplets.

If you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, you should wear a mask stronger than the paper towel ones to protect others.

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