A former park board commissioner and the Sant Sarwan Dass Charitable Trust partnered to hand out 7,000 masks and hot meals for Mother’s Day in the downtown eastside of Vancouver.
The masks are important. Regardless of the virus, many people who are living in the area are homeless and have colds and even pneumonia. Before the restrictions were implements to limit the spread of COVID-19, Constance Barnes worked at the Downtown Eastside Street Market on East Hastings Street. Since the market closed, people have been selling items on the street instead of the market.
Since many people in the Downtown Eastside are suffering from pre-existing health conditions, residents, and advocates fear that if COVID-19 spreads in the area, it could be devastating.
As a preventive measure, the city and province cleared a tent city at Oppenheimer Park after housing most residents in empty hotels. There has been no outbreak of COVID-19 in the Downtown Eastside, but there has been a rise in drug overdose deaths.
For more information about this story, click here to learn.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200504-coronavirus-what-is-the-best-kind-of-face-mask
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover.html
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/face-masks-importance-battle-with-covid19