DES MOINES, Iowa -- Polk County's Public Health Department says wearing face masks in public will help slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
"When we cough, talk or sneeze those droplets can land in your eye, nose or mouth from up to six feet away" says Health Department spokesperson Nola Aigner-Davis.
She says they, and the CDC, are asking people to wear face masks AND practice social distancing.
"We have seen an increased number of cases of people who are asymptomatic--they have COVID-19 but aren't showing any symptoms" Aigner-Davis says
She also says Polk County Public Health is again putting out it's call for the donation of personal protection medical equipment.
Aigner-Davis says they're looking for safety goggles or other protective eye wear, hand sanitizer, bleach or other sanitizer wipes, and thermometers. She says those items shoud be new and unopened.
Donations can be taken to River Place in Des Moines, Monday through Friday from 10 a-m until four p-m.