Cover Durham: Community Health Coalition Launches Free Face Masks Distribution Project
Durham, NC – Cover Durham will launch Monday, June 8, 3:30 pm at the Durham Transportation Center, in partnership with Community Health Coalition (CHC).
The new initiative has been developed by a group of doctors and organizers who saw the urgent need for face coverings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their first project, Covering the Triangle, distributed over 40,000 free face coverings in the greater Triangle area through a network of community organizations. Now they are back with a mission: ensuring that everyone in Durham County has face coverings and knows how, why, and when to wear them. Through advocacy, communication, and direct distribution, Cover Durham seeks to get everyone covered.
Face coverings are vital to prevent the spread of COVID-19. About half of infections are from people who don’t show symptoms – in other words, people who don’t know they’re infected are infecting others. When we speak, cough, or sneeze, we produce droplets that can be breathed in by people nearby. These droplets are the primary way that coronavirus spreads. If you wear a face covering properly, you can stop up to 99% of these droplets before they reach someone else. The concept is simple: I protect you, you protect me. If everyone wears face coverings, and practices social distancing and hand hygiene, the coronavirus can be suppressed in Durham.
Recognizing the importance of face coverings, Durham County Commissioners Brenda Howerton and Ellen Reckhow led the effort to get commitments from the County, City, and Durham Public Schools to provide unspent training and travel funds to support Cover Durham’s work. Duke has agreed to match the local government’s contribution. During the first stage of the project, Cover Durham, in partnership with Community Health Coalition (CHC), will distribute over 40,000 reusable face coverings for free by July 1. CHC is a non-profit with over 30 years’ experience working towards equity in health outcomes for Durham’s African-American communities.
Cover Durham’s distribution program will prioritize African-American and Hispanic/Latin people, whose communities have been disproportionately struck by COVID-19 due to pre-existing health injustices and socioeconomic inequities. CHC’s experienced community health workers will provide health information and distribute face coverings through faith organizations, local businesses, and social networks. Because hypertension, heart disease, asthma, and diabetes are risk factors for severe cases of COVID-19, CHC considers it crucial to combine distribution with general health promotion.
Executive Director Dr. Elaine Hart-Brothers says, “As a Black physician, now more than ever I will honor the mission of the Community Health Coalition (CHC) and its partners to strive to achieve health equity and to eliminate racial health disparities in Durham County and the surrounding areas. Wearing face covers will help but the 3 W’s wear, wait, wash, along with good physical and mental health for all will be necessary.”
In addition to CHC’s outreach, Cover Durham will partner with a number of community organizations to distribute face coverings and public health information across Durham. Special focus will be placed on transit riders, many of whom are essential workers. The Latino Health Roundtable will coordinate distribution to Hispanic/Latin communities.
The first batch of reusable, washable face coverings will be produced by Original Mattress Factory, an employee-owned company with a factory in Raleigh. There are two types: one made from two layers of breathable polypropylene, and the other made from a single layer of polypropylene between two layers of cotton. The first is a lightweight yet effective barrier designed to last a couple of weeks, and the second is more durable and will last for months with proper care.
Cover Durham’s goal is to ensure that everyone in Durham uses face coverings. Future plans include public communications, supporting employers to procure for their employees, and more free distribution. Coordinator Isaac Henrion says, “No one is covered until everyone is covered. We have to ensure that everyone has the face coverings they need to protect their community, and knows why and how to use them.”
For more information:
Isaac Henrion – Coordinator, Cover Durham www.coverdurham.com 917-860-6459
Dr. Elaine Hart-Brothers – Director, Community Health Coalition chealthc.org