Coronavirus: Nassau Firm Giving Away 10,000 Free Masks

PORT WASHINGTON, NY — A Port Washington packaging company is offering residents a chance to get quality face masks at no charge. M&G Packaging announced Monday it will host a drive-through giveaway Tuesday outside its corporate offices at 99 Seaview Blvd., just off West Shore Road.

Donations will begin at 8 a.m. and end around 4 p.m. Each car that arrives will receive a plastic bag filled with five so-called level 2 masks, which can help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus but wouldn't typically be found in a hospital. The company has 10,000 such masks it is giving away, meaning it can help up to 2,000 families.

Charles Rick, president of the company, told Patch on Monday he came up with the idea to donate to people Saturday after being approached at the supermarket.

"As I was getting my essential supplies at the supermarket I couldn't believe how many people were coming up to me asking where I got [the face mask]," he said.

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But Rick knew he could reach more people. Over the weekend, he enlisted the help of his kids and other families to place masks in sealable bags for the giveaway.

"I was like let's just do it. It was impulsive. Not a planned thing," he said.

M&G Packaging, which now has about 90 percent of its workforce staying home, normally works with the airline industry, specifically on the cargo side. With the outbreak of the new coronavirus, the company had to obtain masks and other equipment for airlines.

The company will adhere to the state's strict social distancing guidelines — no one will have to leave their car to receive their masks. Furthermore, police will help direct traffic, though Rick acknowledged there's not much traffic in the area due to the governor's stay-at-home order.

"We want it to be fast," he said.

The donations come as the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended people wear a mask out in public.

"We now know from recent studies that a significant portion of individuals with coronavirus lack symptoms (“asymptomatic”) and that even those who eventually develop symptoms (“pre-symptomatic”) can transmit the virus to others before showing symptoms," the CDC writes on its website. "This means that the virus can spread between people interacting in close proximity—for example, speaking, coughing, or sneezing—even if those people are not exhibiting symptoms. In light of this new evidence, CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies) especially in areas of significant community-based transmission."

The CDC said it recommends the public wear cloth face-coverings, not surgical masks or N95 respirators.

"Those are critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for healthcare workers and other medical first responders, as recommended by current CDC guidance," the CDC's website reads.

Rick emphasized these masks are level 2 masks, which would be commonly found at construction sites, cleanups and restorations. Level 3 masks would be normally be found in hospitals.

The number of confirmed new coronavirus cases in New York climbed to over 130,000 Monday, with the death toll rising to 4,758. Meanwhile, The number of Nassau residents who died from the coronavirus increased by more than 200 over the weekend and Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday extended New York's statewide stay-at-home order to April 29.