After promising to distribute 100,000 free face coverings to New Yorkers last week, Mayor de Blasio now announced the city would be upping that number to 7.5 million.
“[Something] that has clearly been working are the face coverings,” he had said when the first announcement was made. “When the city gave that guidance initially, New Yorkers really moved fast to take it and make it a part of your everyday life. And it’s helped, because it protects everyone.”
Though he acknowledged most people have been doing this well, he also said they know some people still may not have face masks, and that others need to be “energetically reminded” that this is now a “rule everyone needs to follow.” He said it would especially be an issue as the weather gets warmer and people go outside more (though he still says people should limit their time outdoors).
They started distributing them in NYC Parks starting this past Saturday, May 2 (you can see the full map with times and locations on the NYC.gov website here). Today (May 4) he said they were increasing that number to 7.5 million, distributed for free on an ongoing basis throughout the pandemic.
5 million of those coverings will be the 3-ply non-medical masks (example pictured here). The Mayor clarified that these types of masks can be continually reused as long as they are kept dry. The other 2.5 million will be cloth coverings that can be continually rewashed and reused. He said they will be given out in NYC Parks, near grocery stores, public transportation, NYCHA housing, etc. Basically, “any place agencies [NYPD, NYC Parks] are going to enforce social distancing, they will also be carrying a supply of free face coverings.”
As a reminder, “All New Yorkers are required to wear a mask or face covering when out in public and in situations where a 6-foot distance from others cannot be maintained.”
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