While masking requirements have fallen off in recent months, some Pittsburghers are urging people to mask up more often by distributing high-quality masks for free.
Mask Up Pittsburgh founder Lily Wasserman said the group wants to ensure those at higher risk for COVID complications have the tools they need to stay safe.
The City of Pittsburgh rolled back its free mask-distribution program in September 2020 after distributing more than 100,000 coverings.
“It really just looked like our government wasn't stepping up and doing the right thing and providing high quality masks to people who need them. They're expensive,” Wasserman said. “And I realized that's something I can do myself when I saw other groups around the country started doing it.”
Earlier this year, the group received a donation of 2,400 masks from Project N-95, a national nonprofit. Other masks Wasserman has paid for out of pocket, with a pack of 10 KN-95 masks costing as much as $30.
So far, Mask Up Pittsburgh has donated roughly 700 masks to individuals, mutual aid groups and pantries throughout the city.
If you're attending any sort of march or gathering today for Trans Day of Visibility, we highly encourage you to wear a mask! There are many immunocompromised trans folks out there that want to be with their community and can't without covid safety measures in place
— Mask Up Pittsburgh (@MaskUpPitt) March 31, 2023
The group’s effort comes at a time when masking requirements are few and far between. Pittsburgh Public Schools and the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust both switched to only enforcing indoor masking requirements during times of high COVID transmission last summer.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Allegheny County continue to report falling case counts, hospitalizations and deaths, albeit with far fewer tests conducted. Allegheny County shut down all of its third-party-run COVID-19 testing sites at the end of last year.
But Wasserman said people at a higher risk for COVID-19 complications have to confront lingering questions about transmission rates every day. As someone living with chronic illnesses that put them at a higher risk, they have spent the last three years in near isolation.
“I know many people, including myself, have put off medical care to try to make sure that we don't get sick,” Wasserman said. “And the fact that we don't have any public health measures in place to protect us anymore means that we are essentially isolated from the rest of society.”
Wasserman said Mask Up Pittsburgh fills the gap left by governments as they moved resources away from COVID-19 response measures.
The group, they added, is focusing its efforts on providing high-quality masks to people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford them.
“Most people probably don't have that extra money, especially right now,” Wasserman said. “But honestly, if anybody requests that, I'm happy to give them.”
Individuals and organizations can reach out to Mask Up Pitt on social media to request supplies.
