Hayward to help supply essential businesses with masks to protect workers and customers

HAYWARD, Calif., April 20, 2020—The City of Hayward has acquired 10,000 medical procedural masks for distribution to local essential businesses to help keep their employees and customers safe during the COVID-19 health emergency.

The City acquired the masks following recommendations from federal, state and county health authorities to cover the nose and mouth when outside the home as an additional precaution to prevent coronavirus transmission and slow the spread of the COVID-19 contagion.

On Friday, the Alameda County Public Health Officer issued an order making the face-covering recommendation a requirement for everyone 13 years of age and older.  Under the order, the face coverings can be simple and homemade, made of cloth, fabric or other soft or permeable material without holes that covers the nose and mouth.

Face covering can help by blocking respiratory droplets that people expel when they breathe or sneeze.  Health authorities are making them a requirement because people can be infected with coronavirus and contagious without knowing it.

The procedural masks acquired by the City of Hayward for distribution to local essential businesses are not the surgical or N95 grade that are still in short supply and that should be preserved for health-care workers and first responders.

To request masks, representatives for local essential businesses may call the Hayward COVID-19 hotline at (510) 583-4949.  Distribution will be prioritized for essential businesses where the need is considered greatest—starting with grocery stores.  Other essential work-sites and services to be prioritized include:

• Restaurants and commissary kitchens;
• Businesses that ship or deliver groceries, food, goods or services directly to residents;
• Food manufacturing and distribution companies;
• Hardware stores; and
• Businesses that provide food, shelter, social services and other necessities of life for economically disadvantaged and otherwise needy individuals.

Mask orders taken by the City’s COVID-19 hotline call center will be filled in paper grocery bags and made available for pickup by appointment in the rotunda of Hayward City Hall, 777 B Street.

To be eligible to participate, businesses must also have a valid business license to operate in the City of Hayward.

The order on face covering from the Alameda County Department of Public Health is in addition to the Shelter-in-Place order, and the practice of face covering is not considered a substitute for staying home, physical distancing of at least six feet, and frequent hand-washing.

Under the order, a person engaged in walking, hiking, bicycling, and running is not required to wear a face covering but that person must take steps to maintain at least six feet of distance from others and carry a face covering in case one is needed when encountering other people.

To read the order and for other COVID-19 information and updates from the Alameda County Public Health Department, go to www.acphd.org/2019-ncov.

For other resources and information and updates on how the City of Hayward is responding to the health emergency, go to www.hayward-ca.gov/covid-19 or call the City’s COVID-19 hotline at (510) 583-4949. 

REQUEST MASKS