Sydney gives out over 20,000 free masks to disadvantaged residents
Sep 28, 2020
Sydney [Australia], September 28 (ANI/Xinhua): The Sydney city council decided to distribute over 20,000 free and reusable masks to those most vulnerable in the city in a bid to further contain the spreading of COVID-19.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore said in a statement on Monday that while the Sydney city council strongly supports the health advice to wear a mask, they also realized that not everyone was able to buy them.
"The city of Sydney has purchased cloth reusable masks for the most vulnerable in our community -- rough sleepers, people in social housing and boarding houses," Moore said.
"The masks are made from three-ply material and meet the guidelines produced by the World Health Organisation. We worked with an Australian manufacturer, ClothMaskMe, who provided the masks at cost price, as they were keen to support such an important cause."
Sydney Local Health District Chief Executive Teresa Anderson said they were offering free medical help to disadvantaged communities amid the COVID-19 pandemic and welcomed the free mask initiative as many people were struggling financially or facing homeless in Sydney due to the pandemic.
"More than 13,000 people across Sydney and South Eastern Sydney local health districts are experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless, and we have many people living in social housing, or struggling financially due to job losses related to the pandemic," Anderson said.
Comparing with the neighboring State of Victoria, the State of New South Wales (NSW), of which Sydney is the capital, saw a much smaller spike in cases in the latest outbreak in the country.
As of Monday, NSW reported no new cases of COVID-19 for the second day in a roll. (ANI/Xinhua)
