via USNews: Oregon Residents Assemble 10k Masks for Health-Care Workers

This is a great community effort for our health care workers on the front line fighting this virus. It’s especially great to see on World Health Day – I’m so grateful for the health care staff in Oregon and across the country working tirelessly for us. The federal government must do more to ensure health care workers have the protective gear they need to keep doing their jobs.

-Deb

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Hospital workers in Oregon are astounded at the community response to an effort to provide those on the front lines of the coronavirus fight with protective masks.

On March 26, Salem Health, which runs two hospital and several clinics in and around Oregon's capital city, announced it would hand out kits for people to make masks.

So many cars lined up to receive the kits that a traffic jam ensued. People had to be turned away because the response was so great. All the kits — with enough material to make around 10,000 masks — were handed out the first day.

The people returned home and began assembling the blue masks using cutting boards and sewing machines. Then they began dropping them off this week. By Friday, the last day for dropoff, 10,942 assembled masks had been delivered.

“It's incredible to see the community come together and put in their time and effort to protect our health care workers during this time,” said Elijah Tanner, a Salem Health spokesman.

The Oregon Health Authority reported Friday that a 71-year-old man from Polk County who had underlying medical conditions has died, raising the state’s death toll to 22.

The health agency also reported 73 new cases of COVID-19. Around 900 people have tested positive in the state for the virus.

Many of those people were likely infected two or more weeks ago, authorities said.

Continue reading at USNews [Link]