MONDAY May 4, was the first real business day after we moved to lockdown stage 2. My husband and I were driving to our daughters school when we noticed an unusually high volume of traffic. It seemed as if everyone was going to work. There was also a high number of pedestrians going about their business. Almost everyone was wearing a face mask. Impressive compliance with the need to protect ourselves from COVID-19 infection. One woman caught my attention. She was wearing an originally white disposable mask which clearly had been worn so many times, it was visibly dirty from a distance. I remarked to my husband that I was not sure many people knew how to correctly use a face mask and he said, are you sure thats the only problem, how many people can afford a face mask? I did not have an immediate answer but this conversation made me think about the challenges most people will have around laying their hands on a mask. Poverty One thing that is not negotiable is that we all need to wear masks when we step out of our homes. What is prohibitive is the cost of the masks. In preparation for this article I did a quick survey of the cost of disposable face masks and found that on average a disposable single use mask costs at least US$4. From what I have observed, most people seem to prefer either surgical or some kind of disposable masks. There are those who have started making and selling reusable masks and these cost an average of US$2 which at parallel market rate is $90. I am not sure many ordinary Zimbabweans who are already vulnerable because of the impact of the lockdown on livelihoods can afford these masks. If the mask is to be effective, one needs at least two washable ones. A family of six will need to spend $1 080 on masks. For most families, that is double the breadwinners monthly salary. Clearly, disposable masks are out of reach for many and washable ones come at prohibitive prices. The risk posed by the unaffordability of masks is that family members will share a few masks and take turns to use them with the one who is leaving the house having priority. Clearly, this defeats the whole purpose of using masks. Some people might use disposable masks several times which also defeats the whole purpose of a mask. Vulnerable groups such as children in difficult circumstances, the poor, children living and working on the streets (these were rounded up and put in places of safety but they seem to be back on the streets), might not have easy access to this essential piece of personal protective clothing. Children living on the streets might pick up the discarded disposable masks and cover their faces in order to comply with the requirement. Already there is a picture circulating on social media that shows two women washing disposed surgical masks obviously for reuse. I shudder to think of the possible outbreaks that can arise from this unhygienic practice, maybe not of COVID-19, but of other infectious diseases. We must also keep in mind that masks are a new thing for all of us except healthcare workers. I am not sure if