While social distancing is the most important way to fight the spread of coronavirus and save lives, wearing a mask is an act of social altruism - a behavior that is designed to increase another person's welfare, and particularly those actions that do not seem to provide a direct reward to the person who performs them. While guidance on whether to wear a face mask has been evolving, wearing a mask can help limit the spread of respiratory droplets, which in turn spread the new coronavirus. Sewing your own face mask helps to protect the supply of surgical masks to frontline care providers. In an effort to promote this activity the NY Times provided a tutorial on how to make your own fabric face mask from common household materials.