Cities take different approaches for mask giveaways

“We got you covered,” the City of Moreno Valley’s website reads above a schedule of mask giveaways over the rest of August.

The city is set to give 175,000 masks away at participating grocery stores in its area, according to NBC Los Angeles. The city’s police, fire department, code enforcement and park ranger personnel will also be giving out masks at city events.

Moreno Valley Mayor Yxetian Gutierrez obtained the collection of masks, which multiple government agencies, local businesses, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and other organizations donated, according to NBC.

Moreno Valley isn’t the only city that’s holding a mask giveaway for residents. Cities are taking different approaches to distribute masks in their communities.

Irvine, Calif., held a drive-up free mask giveaway for community members on Aug. 8, according to a city news release. Each car that drove up however, received one free box of 50 disposable masks. The city accumulated the masks through a donation from FivePoint Holdings.

On Aug. 11, La Crosse, Wis., will be giving out reusable, washable masks to the public, WI Proud reports. These masks won’t be given out in bulk, though — masks are limited to one per person and a maximum of five per household.

There is certainly demand for masks, too. The Jackson-Madison County (Tenn.) Regional Health Department gave out over 1,000 free masks in West Jackson, Tenn., on July 28, according to TV station WBBJ.

Meanwhile, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, officials gave out 2,500 disposable masks at a local high school in one day, CBS affiliate KREM reports. The city had used CARES Act funds to buy about 4,000 disposable face masks.

“We want the community to be safe and healthy. We want all of the businesses to get open and normalcy to return. We want our kids to get back into the classroom,” Coeur d’Alene firefighter Craig Etherton told KREM.