'Operation Maskup' sets up shop in historic Doña Ana County Courthouse

LAS CRUCES - A local group intent on making face masks for health care professionals and the community has set up shop in the historic Doña Ana County Courthouse.

The group, headed by the owner of Medicare Options, Tony Palumbo, is comprised of volunteers who sew masks and cut filters for what they're calling "Operation Maskup."

“We just wanted to do something to raise awareness,” Palumbo said. “My family in Italy … were unable to get masks, and several of their neighbors have passed away already. I couldn’t do anything for them because we couldn’t get masks there, but I wanted to do something here.”

As the coronavirus pandemic has devastated Italy and continues to engulf the United States, a national shortage of masks and depleting stock of loose-fitting surgical masks has led to do-it-yourself versions.

More: Las Cruces mother and friends sew over 120 face masks for healthcare workers

Medical class filters

Saturday was the first full production day in the courthouse with a goal to make 600 reusable masks by the end of the day.

“The outer liner is a 100% washable cotton,” Palumbo said. “The inside insert is a 13 MERV rated filter made by 3M.” (MERV stands for Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value.)

These 13-MERV-rated filters, donated to Palumbo by Lowe's Home Improvement, are a medical class filter, the same class as filters used for general surgery and inpatient care rooms.

Palumbo plans to send the completed masks to JOANN Fabric and Craft Stores so they can distribute them to hospitals. Masks will also be available to anyone for free plus shipping.

Jody Stolp, a volunteer sewing the masks, decided to join after a friend told her about the project.

“I heard of the need that they had, especially in the health care industry where they don’t have enough masks. A friend reached out, so I said, ‘sure,’” Stolp said. “I hope it helps the people we have on the front lines."

Palumbo said they are accepting material and monetary donations, as well as volunteers to help make more masks. In addition to free masks, Palumbo said there are free downloadable templates for masks on the site.

“I think it’s just giving back and raising awareness, and making something available to people that typically isn’t available right now,” Palumbo said. “We wanted to do our part. We know we’re not going to be able to mask all of Las Cruces overnight … but the end result is just to keep the transmission level down as much as possible because having some protection is better than no protection when breathing the air.”

Experts advise that while the homemade alternatives may mitigate the spread of some germs, they are not designed to block the spread of COVID-19.

“The only mask that the CDC considers safe from you getting the coronavirus, the only way to actually prevent you from inhaling it, is the N95 mask,” Captain Michael Doyle, a U.S. Army New York National Guard physician assistant, told USA TODAY.

Why the old courthouse?

The abandoned courthouse housing Operation Maskup is said to be haunted, and has been investigated by numerous organizations, including Ghost Adventures.

David Crider, an investment partner on the historic Doña Ana County Courthouse who typically holds tours of the allegedly haunted courthouse for Southwest Expeditions, decided to open up the building to make masks because he felt the need to get involved in helping the community.

“We’ve got this historic 1937 courthouse building … We have the space. We had set it up for some other events so we just decided to use this building because it’s centrally located, so all these volunteers can get here pretty quick,” Crider said.

Crider said he had been looking for a way to give back to the community, and he jumped at the opportunity to help.

“I’ve been wanting to do something like this for the longest time,” Crider said. “This is just something that kind of stops you in your tracks, with everything going on, and makes you refocus your priorities. Because there are a lot of people out there that need the product and can't find it, so we felt that this was a good fit to help out.”

Nathan J. Fish can be reached at 575-541-5445, nathan.fish@gannett.com or @photojfish on Twitter.