Community food bank offers free masks to residents

Maximum of two masks per person; statewide order mandates use of masks in public

The+Community+Action+Center+is+giving+residents+free+cloth+masks.+Masks+are+required+to+be+worn+while+in+public%2C+according+to+a+statewide+order.+

COURTESY OF PIXABAY

The Community Action Center is giving residents free cloth masks. Masks are required to be worn while in public, according to a statewide order.

LOREN NEGRON, Evergreen editor-in-chief

The Community Action Center will be distributing 12,000 free cloth masks to the community.

CAC is located at 350 Fairmount Drive and distribution will occur from now until masks run out.

Individuals can visit the CAC’s lobby to get masks, according to the CAC’s press release. There will be a maximum of two masks per person.

On June 23, Gov. Jay Inslee and Washington State Secretary of Health John Wiesman announced a statewide order mandating the use of facial coverings in public. This took effect on June 26.

“With the recent Public Health Order requiring mask use in public, some families and individuals struggling with low income may have difficulty complying, so these free masks will be made available to all who request them,” according to the press release.

Bill Tensfeld, Whitman County emergency management director, said the county received about 37,000 cloth masks from the state last week. He said the county’s emergency management office allocated the masks to different groups, including the CAC. Those groups will then distribute the masks to the community.