Mountlake Terrace mailing masks to everyone in town

MOUNTLAKE TERRACE, Wash. - One Washington city is going to great lengths to make sure everyone in town is doing their part to stop COVID-19.

Leaders in Mountlake Terrace are sending a message by handing out free masks and even sending masks to everyone in the city.

City Clerk Virginia Olsen is on a mission.

“Each person I talk to is going to get some masks, some washing instructions and some hand sanitizer,” Olsen said.
 
“You get two (masks) per person, do you have anybody else in your household?” Olsen asked someone. 

The city council learned about the success of these mask giveaways and decided to send masks to every mailbox of every home and business in Mountlake Terrace.

“We want everyone to be safe," said Mayor Kyoko Matsumoto. "We want everyone to comply with the orders from the state. So, in order to do that, why not provide them with something that can help.”

A new forecast from the University of Washington found face coverings save lives. If 95-percent of Americans wear masks, more than 45,000 lives will be saved between now and Nov. 1.

“They are going to be placed into an envelope with a folded letter with some information from the city and then sent out in the envelope with two masks," said Olsen.

The masks will be mailed out to almost 10,000 addresses - two per household. The federal government is covering the costs, more than $53,000, as part of the CARES Act.

The city hopes to have all of the masks delivered by the end of July. If people need more than two per household, they can contact the city.

Other cities have been reaching out to Mountlake Terrace as officials consider mailing masks to their residents too.