Santa Monica Will Give Away 135,000 Masks To Businesses

SANTA MONICA, CA — More than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the city of Santa Monica will offer businesses free face masks, the city announced Wednesday.

Starting Thursday and for the next two weeks, the city will partner with Santa Monica Travel & Tourism, PPE Unite, and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to make 135,000 KN95s, N95s, and surgical masks, plus 2,000 bottles of hand sanitizer available.

Local businesses can pick up these items by appointment, while supplies last, for free.

The following industries are eligible for the free masks and hand sanitizer through this program:

• Automotive
• Utilities 
• Construction 
• Manufacturing 
• Retail and Digital Trade
• Health Care and Social Assistance
• Restaurants, Hospitality and Food Service  
• Arts, Entertainment and Recreation
• Personal Care and Laundry Services 
• Childcare Services (schools are ineligible)
• Information and Technology 
• Transportation and Warehousing 
• Wholesale Trade 
• Waste Management and  Remediation Services 
• Motion Picture and Sound Recording
• Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and  Hunting  
• Mining, Quarrying, Oil and Gas  Extraction

Eligible businesses must sign-up for a pick-up time at www.ppeunite.org/service-page/santa-monica-ppe to ensure supplies are available. This giveaway is part of the City of Santa Monica’s ongoing economic recovery efforts and builds on the free distribution of 50,000 masks earlier in the pandemic.

This collaboration comes at a much-needed time for small businesses. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health changed the Health Officer Order to state that all indoor businesses must provide high-quality surgical masks to their employees on Jan. 17. This requirement was issued to better protect workers due to the highly contagious Omicron variant and the countywide surges earlier in the pandemic.

“We are eager to support Santa Monica businesses by offering free personal protective equipment to keep Santa Monica workers safe as we work together to lower community Omicron transmission,” Lindsay Call, Santa Monica Emergency Operations Center Director, said in a statement.

"Our goal is to ensure the health and safety of LA workplaces during the pandemic, and we are excited to partner with the City of Santa Monica and Santa Monica Travel & Tourism to extend distribution of critical free PPE to the local West LA business community," Jay Tsao, Co-founder of PPE Unite, said in a statement.

Each eligible business will receive a 30-day supply of PPE per employee by registering for an appointment on the website: www.ppeunite.org/service-page/santa-monica-ppe.

The pick-up location is at the Santa Monica Travel and Tourism Main Street Information Center, 2427 Main Street, Santa Monica/ Appointments are required and pick-up hours are between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily. Text or call (424) 443-7444 or email info@santamonica.com with any questions.