Council Delivers Thousands of Masks to Needy Organizations

With surgical masks in desperately short supply, the Bay Area Council this week delivered thousands of masks to the agency that manages San Francisco’s homeless shelter system and an East Bay childcare provider helping young children whose parents are on the front lines of the COVID-19 response.

The San Francisco Department of Public Health was almost out of surgical masks used by staff serving the city’s homeless shelters when the Council arrived with a supply of 650 that ecstatic city employees said will hold them over for almost a week. The resupply came as news hit that more than 100 people contracted COVID-19 at San Francisco’s largest homeless shelter. Another 350 masks are in transit. The masks were donated by the China Development Institute (CDI), a leading think tank based in Shenzhen. The Bay Area Council Economic Institute has partnered with CDI for many years on US-China research including the China Greater Bay Area, an economic zone that includes Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong Province.

The Council today (April 17) also delivered 1,000 masks to member company Kidango, which provides quality early learning experiences at their childcare centers around the region. While most of their facilities are currently closed due to the current emergency, Kidango is operating nine centers specifically for the children of first responders, healthcare workers, and other designated emergency workers needed to keep us safe during this crisis. The masks were donated by our good friends at the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco, with whom the Council has partnered for many years as part of our continuing work to expand bilateral economic opportunities.