Riverside County plans to deliver 10 million masks, enough to give approximately four masks to each county resident, as part of a public outreach campaign aimed at stopping a surge in coronavirus cases that has slowed the county’s economic recovery and hampered efforts to reopen schools.
The Masks Are Medicine campaign, presented during a press conference on Friday, July 24, will use nonprofit groups, food banks, senior services, food delivery services, the religious community, schools, and businesses to distribute masks. , which will also be distributed at county and state administered COVID-19 test sites.
The goal is to give a mask to any county resident who wants one, said County Director of Public Health Kim Saruwatari at the news conference outside the County Administrative Center in downtown Riverside. The combination of hand washing, face covering and social distancing has been shown to be 95% effective in stopping COVID-19 infections, he said.
By masking and encouraging social distancing and handwashing, county officials expect to see a drop in the 30-day increase in cases.
The county used $ 2 million in federal coronavirus relief funds to buy the 10 million masks, which can be reused until they get dirty, said county spokeswoman Brooke Federico. Local nonprofits received more than 50,000 masks on Friday, according to a county press release.
The county is also asking residents to sign a pledge to wear a mask when they leave home and to avoid social gatherings. The online promise can be made at pledgetofightcovid.com.
Like much of California and the nation, Riverside County has seen an increase in COVID-19 cases since Memorial Day. Upon entering Friday, the county had 32,813 confirmed cases and 637 COVID-19 deaths, about twice as many cases and nearly 50% more deaths than a month ago.
Concerned that the statewide surge could overwhelm hospitals with coronavirus patients, Governor Gavin Newsom imposed a state-wide facial coverage order on June 18. Riverside County required to cover his face from early April through May 9, when Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser lifted the order on the Request of the Board of Supervisors.
Riverside County, like its neighbors, is also subject to a state order that prohibits indoor operations at places of worship, restaurants, gyms, beauty salons, and other establishments. Increasing cases have kept the county on the state’s coronavirus watch list for weeks.
Masks for Medicine marks a new phase in the county’s virus-fighting strategy, one that links public behavior with a return to something akin to normality until a coronavirus vaccine arrives.
“We believe that, as a county and as a community, we are at a crossroads and need to make a decision,” said Dr. Geoffrey Leung, director of outpatient care for the county’s network of health clinics.
“The first option is to continue on this path of alternation, trapped in a state of perpetual uncertainty and emotional exhaustion, not knowing if we can work or when our children can return to school or when we can see our family or loved ones,” he said. Leung. “This first option is stressful, disruptive, and not a good way to live.”
“The second option is that we can decide that enough is enough and that, as a community, we will take control of the pandemic,” he said. “And by doing so, we can reverse the increase in cases and create certainty that our businesses, schools, houses of worship and neighborhoods are reopened quickly and safely.”
Informal social gatherings, like birthday parties involving friends and family from different homes, are one of the main drivers of the spread of COVID-19 in the county, Leung said.
“It may still seem strange to wear a mask around people we love and trust,” he said. “Naturally, we let our guard down when we are with friends and family and we do not believe that our closest friends and family infect us or that we infect them.”
Officials at Friday’s briefing warned that there is no way to restart the economy without the public doing their part to stop the spread.
“Without safe public health practices, there will be no economic recovery,” said Lou Monville, who heads the county’s coronavirus economic recovery task force.
According to Supervisor V. Manuel Pérez, more than 71,000 county jobs have already been lost in the areas of leisure and hospitality, retail, healthcare and education. And in three months, the county’s economy took a $ 3 billion hit from the pandemic, said Paul Granillo, president and CEO of the Inland Empire Economic Partnership.
“In order for us to get that back, you’re seeing up to a year and a half,” he said. “And if we don’t wear masks, if we don’t take COVID-19 seriously, it will extend the duration of that economic hit to Riverside County.”
Nonprofit groups and companies that want to distribute skins through the campaign can send an email to [email protected].
