Hundreds of vehicles navigated orange traffic cones Thursday in the Memorial Hall parking lot as the city of Joplin issued free face masks to residents on the first day of its drive-thru distribution.
Volunteers handed out the masks at six stations so that several cars could be served at one time while the line moved at a steady pace.
Emily Laird was one of those who drove through to get masks for her family. She had her three children, who ranged from ages 8 to 13, with her. The children wrapped the ear loops a couple times to shorten them so the masks would stay on.
“It looks like it may be a little big on the kids, but I think it will work,” Laird said. “I think it’s wonderful if it can help others.”
Lynn Onstot, public information officer for the city, said more than 500 masks were handed out within the first three hours of Thursday’s opening. There were people already lined up at 6:45 a.m. before the 7 a.m. session started.
Volunteers counted 130 cars within the first 20 minutes of starting the second shift at 11 a.m. Many occupants were already wearing face coverings and thanked the volunteers, who stood in the rain to hand out the masks.
“I think people are paying attention, and unfortunately I think we all thought this might go away by summer, like the cold and flu viruses that go away with warmer weather,” Onstot said. “But right now it’s lingering, and it’s peaked a little bit in our area.”
Shipment of 50,000
The drive-thru mask distribution is part of the city’s plan to supply Joplin residents who want one with a mask in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19. The City Council passed an ordinance July 8 requiring face coverings be worn in businesses and public places after rejecting such a requirement a couple of weeks earlier.
City officials recently purchased 50,000 gray cloth masks from a local vendor and received the shipment earlier this week.
Onstot is confident the city has enough masks to supply those who want them.
“We have about 50,000 residents, and we know not everyone will get a mask because some may already have them or may not wear them,” Onstot said. “Now that there’s a lot of national retailers putting this requirement into place, I think we will get busier.”
To obtain a mask, people are asked to bring a city sewer and trash bill to confirm they live in Joplin. People may also use another piece of mail or a driver’s license or personal identification card showing their address to verify Joplin residency.
Masks can be obtained for each person in a household, although the city is providing only one per person.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on its website that although cloth face coverings may not protect the wearer, it may keep the wearer from spreading the virus to others.
“The idea is to get masks into the people’s hands and onto their faces for their safety,” Onstot said. “The CDC has come out and made recommendations that cloth masks are an element that will help prevent us from spreading droplets while we speak and things like that.”
The spread of the illness can be reduced when cloth face coverings are widely used by people in public settings in combination with preventive measures including frequent hand-washing, social distancing, and cleaning and disinfecting commonly used surfaces, according to the CDC. The cloth masks should be washed after being worn each day. They can be washed by hand or by machine.
Longtime friends Jill English, 69, and Susan Casey, 70, rode together to pick up their masks. They said they don’t feel safe out in public without them. Casey has a health condition with her airways.
“It’s hard to wear a mask when you can’t breathe well, but it’s not as hard to breathe as getting COVID-19. I will wear the mask, and I was glad for the (council) vote to finally go through. One of my best friend’s husbands is an ophthalmologist here in town, and he’s been in the hospital for two weeks with COVID-19 because someone who saw him in his office didn’t wear a mask,” she said.
Jasper County distribution
Jasper County residents living outside of Joplin city limits will also have the opportunity to receive a free face mask.
Tony Moehr, Jasper County Health Department administrator, said his office worked with the city of Joplin to order masks for county residents on the city’s order.
Moehr said the health department ordered enough masks to make them available to all the cities outside Joplin as well as rural county residents.
“Each community in the county should have access to masks within the next day or so,” Moehr said. “And we at the health department can also provide cloth masks if people aren’t able to access them in a community. We’ve got plenty of masks. They are reusable. They can be washed and reused, so we’re hoping we can get people trained to use them, and hopefully we can slow down the spread of the virus.”
Moehr said each of the communities was deciding how to distribute their allotment of masks. Some of the smaller communities may make them available at their city halls.
Larger communities like Webb City, Carthage and Carl Junction may make masks available at different locations.
“Every community has a little different idea on how they’re going to distribute the masks,” Moehr said. “People should be contacting their cities, and the cities will be determining how they choose to distribute them.”
Freelance writer John Hacker contributed to this report.
Joplin distribution
Masks provided to Joplin residents will be offered at different times of the day to accommodate various work schedules. They can be obtained in the Memorial Hall parking lot:
• Today from 7 to 9 a.m., 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m.
• Saturday: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Wednesday, July 22, through Friday, July 24: 7 to 9 a.m.; 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m.
