More masks to come after free mask day success in Monroe County
Written by Site Hub on May 15, 2020
On Wednesday, May 13, people in thousands of cars turned out across Monroe County for free masks provided to residents by county officials and volunteers via federal CARES Act funds, which paid for approximately 8 million masks. Yet, the availability of free masks in the county didn’t end on Wednesday.
Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren announced last week that Rochester residents, including suburbs and towns around the city, should expect to receive free masks in the mail as well. This week, the City of Rochester is distributing 480,000 masks from the Monroe County stockpile to approximately 96,000 homes. Each home is scheduled to receive five free masks. An additional 20,000 masks will be distributed to apartment complexes, businesses and churches.
Last week, Governor Andrew Cuomo supported Rochester’s mask-wearing efforts. While talking about local governments, he stated that he felt that Rochester should be able to enforce mask-wearing policies and penalize anyone who doesn’t comply. As he emphasized: “I think there should be a penalty. You could literally kill someone. You could literally kill someone, because you didn’t want to wear a mask. How cruel and irresponsible would that be.”
In the mask mailings that households receive this week, officials have also included other useful information. Rochester residents will find printed details and instructions about how to acquire financial, food and mental health assistance and other services during the crisis.
This is an ongoing story.
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