COUNTY NEWS
Los Alamos County Emergency Manager Bev Simpson is calling upon the community – especially those with any kind of sewing and handiwork skills – to supply County employees with face coverings, as suggested by the Centers for Disease Control for those working out and about in public places.
“Although our Procurement Officer has placed orders for these items, lead times are nearly three weeks to receive any shipments, due to the backlog being experienced across the nation,” Simpson said, adding that even though the guidance from the CDC is optional, the County is encouraging use of face coverings for employees to keep them, and the public, safe during the pandemic.
The County has set up a bin at its Procurement office located at 101 Camino Entrada, inside Building 3. Hand-sewn face coverings can be dropped off in the bin between the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The bin will be marked for the collection in the foyer located between the Procurement offices and the County’s warehouse to minimize person-to-person contact.
Residents should turn on Camino Entrada Drive then follow signs leading to Pajarito Cliffs Site and Building 3 on the east edge of joint County/Schools operational facilities.
“We’ve had several community members ask how they can help,” Simpson said, “and this is a great way to show community spirit while helping out our employees who may not otherwise have access to supplies. We would like to thank everyone for their generosity and support during these challenging times.”
Simpson said each face covering should ideally be individually packaged in a sandwich baggie and contain a slotted pocket for a coffee filter to be inserted into the hand-sewn mask as shown in one of many You Tube videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3lcPRHo_nY
County staff will conduct quality control checks in cooperation with the Emergency Management Office as items arrive and are distributed.
County Manager Harry Burgess also sent out communications today urging employees in the field, such as police officers, bus drivers and environmental services workers, to make a homemade face covering in lieu of supplies arriving later this month. Residents may see County workers moving about in the community with various fabric covering their face such as a bandana or scarf.