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Cambridge to put its masks where its mouth is: Will give residents free face coverings

Cambridge city officials today answered cranky critics who demanded to know if the city was going to give out masks now that it requires people to wear them in public places: Yes.

Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui announced tonight that police will be given thousands of masks for distribution to Cambridge residents, thanks to a huge donation of masks from the state's Chinese community, in particular the Fo Guang Buddhist Temple.

Masks will be available from a dispenser outside the Cambridge police headquarters - as well as from officers inside and at city school-meal distribution sites. Drive-thru mask pickup sites will be at the Tobin Elementary School and the Kennedy-Longfellow Elementary School, 3-5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Police cruisers will also be stocked with masks, and officers on patrol will offer them to people they see out and about without one on.

Siddiqui cautioned the masked not to become face-covering vigilantes and to leave enforcement to police - some people might have a valid medical reason for not wearing a mask, and shouldn't have to explain themselves to every covered Tom, Dick and Harry.

The City’s order requiring face coverings in public settings is intended to protect our residents - not punish them. There is clear evidence that many people who are infected will never show symptoms and may unwillingly be spreading the virus if they are not taking preventative measures like covering their face. We have built in a one-week grace period. Following that timeframe, our Police Department will exclusively focus on education for a few weeks when encountering someone without a face covering. Their primary focus after that point will be on education. We need everyone in Cambridge to take this order seriously and do their best to comply. Face coverings are not simply about protecting the person wearing it - they are about protecting others in the community and we all must do our part.

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Comments

These selfish people still will not wear them and we will all be watching Christmas mass on Catholic TV.

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During the 1918 flu pandemic, San Francisco enacted a law requiring masks in public. An "Anti-Mask League" appeared in response, and a lot of people stopped wearing masks. Astoundingly, infections increased.

Bitching about masks is part of our history, like the Confederate flag.

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Are the masks available to only residents of Cambridge? Will you have to show an ID?

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It’s Cambridge, Land of Love, no one is asking for ID.

Just please go find yourself a washable, reusable mask and save these for these who people who can’t otherwise figure that out.
When you use this thing every day washable makes far more sense.

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Mask cleaning - (an idea I got from my dentist's assistant) - use a steam iron. I believe the steam heat will kill most germs (autoclav?).

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Autoclaves also rely on high pressure, heat and time to sterilize equipment. A steam iron is probably not sufficient to sterilize a mask. If you want to recreate autoclave sterilization, use a pressure cooker.

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It sounds like they'll offer them to anyone they see in Cambridge city limits, which makes sense, since the rule applies to everyone, wherever they live. Belmont seems to be leaving it to residents to find our own, but the face-covering order here doesn't (as of yesterday) apply to just walking around outside. (I'm okay, I have a stock of bandannas and a few masks made by other people.)

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I think this is great. If you are going to require it - offer them. I have ordered washable masks from two different sources on the internet over 2 weeks ago and neither have arrived. I'm not shelling out more money for more masks when I still have no idea when I'd actually get them.

I am essential and luckily my workplace gives me a paper mask to wear when I arrive. But can't wear paper masks over and over. I don't have bandanas lying around my house or even rubber bands or other elastics. Anything I try to order on line is not available or ridiculously long arrival times. (hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, hair clippers).

Frustrating!

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