Two East Vancouver residents have given away thousands of high-quality N95 masks over the past two months in direct response to what they say are “neglectful” public health measures toward disabled and immunocompromised people.
Jane Shea and Vivian Li are the organizers Masks4EastVanwhich began in May of this year, two months after BC removed mandatory masking requirements in most indoor public spaces.
For Shea and Lee, the lack of a mask mandate meant that they—as disabled people of color—couldn’t safely access public spaces.
“We are still in the middle of the pandemic. It’s not over,” Li told CBC News. “We see this kind of dissonance where… cases [are] still going upbut there are not enough public health measures to fill these gaps.
“We are left to fill these gaps ourselves with such community initiatives.”
Masks4EastVan hosted a pop-up event at Pandora Park in Vancouver at the end of June where they gave away a thousand free N95 masks. Organizer Vivian Li says they ran out of masks in 15 minutes. (Submitted by Masks4EastVan)
They say the response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive, with over 4,000 masks and 250 rapid tests handed out so far since Masks4EastVan started.
There are currently no widespread public health measures in place in British Columbia regarding COVID-19, despite signs of a seventh wave and increasing pressure on the health system.
Officials say those who choose to wear a mask “must be maintained”, but this remains a personal choice according to provincial guidelines.
Shea says BC’s approach is out of touch with the science surrounding COVID-19, which shows it is an airborne virus which can lead to a debilitating chronic condition known as long covid.
“We want to contribute to a cultural change that is rooted in justice for people with disabilities,” she said. “Not only the rights of people with disabilities who [are] individual rights … but also societal change that would be more sustainable for all of us.”
Asian elderly people benefiting from masks
Masks4EastVan is currently doing free deliveries via a request form and also had a pop-up event at Pandora Park on June 18 where they gave out masks in person. They are funded by donations, tracked public in a spreadsheet.
Li said the community response to the event was so overwhelming that they ran out of masks within 15 minutes.
Elderly Chinese and Cantonese speakers and multi-generational families are said to have turned out for the event. They also received requests from people with disabilities and people of color, Downtown Eastside residents, and long-term care workers.
A produce stand filled with free N95 respirator masks provided by the US Department of Health and Human Services sits inside a grocery store in Mississippi. Unlike the US, British Columbia has never given out masks for free. (Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press)
“We hope to distribute 12,000 masks by the end of the year,” they said. “What we want is a collective response to this pandemic, not an individual one.
Scientific evidence shows that N95-style respirators are more efficient to stop the spread of COVID-19 from cloth or medical masks, but they are also more expensive. Unlike the US, British Columbia has never distributed free masks to the public on a broad basis.
Lack of proper communication
Masks4EastVan distributed awareness materials on N95 mask use and how to protect yourself from COVID-19 in both English and traditional Chinese.
Li says the government should reinstate the mask mandate, distribute high-quality masks and roll out a multilingual education campaign about the risks of COVID transmission and prolonged COVID.
For Shi, the Masks4EastVan initiative is rooted in “mutual aid” — a long-term form of interdependent care, “envisioning and implementing a way to care for each other after the pandemic.”
Chinese language poster put up by Masks4EastVan before its free mask pop-up event at Pandora Park in East Vancouver. Organizer Vivian Lee says the British Columbia government should roll out a multilingual campaign to encourage more masking. (Submitted by Masks4EastVan)
She says she hopes the initiative will eventually stop when the pandemic ends, but that won’t happen without a concerted effort to prevent transmission.
“We want people with disabilities to go out, have fun and be part of everyday life [life]and that can’t happen without extensive masking,” she said.
“We are used to non-disabled people abandoning us and mistreating us. So we have developed systems within ourselves to take care of each other, and we want everyone to join us in this work.”
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