Cook County To Provide 500,000 Masks To 18 Hard-Hit Communities

 Thu, Oct 08, 2020

From staff reports

As coronavirus case counts and deaths continue to rise in the suburbs, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced last Thursday the procurement of half a million cloth masks for distribution to vulnerable residents in 18 communities including Bridgeview and Summit.

"I believe that government’s most basic role is to ensure our residents’ safety and security," Preckwinkle said. "We do this by providing the resources and information residents need to stay safe. Science tells us that a mask – a simple mask – can literally save lives, as we continue the battle against COVID-19. If our residents are armed with masks and use them properly, we can remain healthy and keep those we come into contact with healthy as well."

Preckwinkle was joined at the news conference in Oak Forest by William Barnes, executive director of the Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security.

The county has identified 18 communities with the greatest need using the COVID-19 Community Vulnerability Index. This index, developed by the County’s Department of Public Health, takes into account COVID-19 rates along with factors that impact the Social Vulnerability Index, such as socioeconomic and minority status, disability, language barriers, housing type and access to transportation.

"Throughout this pandemic we have worked to identify needs in our community and to do all we can to fill those needs,” Barnes said. "And now as we battle through the seventh month of this pandemic, we must ensure that our most vulnerable residents have the resources they need to stop the spread of this virus.”

More than 5,200 Cook County residents have died from COVID-19 infections since the pandemic first began and more than 145,000 people in Cook County have contracted COVID-19. The U.S. death toll from the virus stands at over 200,000, with more than one million deaths worldwide.

"The effectiveness of masks is real,” said Dr. Rachel Rubin, co-lead and senior medical officer at CCDPH. "Wearing a mask along with physical distancing, hand washing and contact tracing are our best and proven strategies against COVID-19. We are all tired, but if we do these things now, we can save lives and win the fight against COVID-19."

The masks are branded with the hashtag #ONECOOKCOUNTY and each recipient will receive two masks.

In conjunction with the mask distribution, the county is also expanding its #MaskUp education campaign, focusing on communities of color and residents for whom English is not a first language. The campaign will continue its focus on wearing a mask, washing your hands and watching your distance through digital, social, radio and billboard messaging.

For more information about Cook County’s #MaskUp campaign, visit www.maskupcookcounty.com.

— Desplaines Valley News

Source: https://desplainesvalleynews.com/index90.htm Accessed: October 13, 2020