US President Joe Biden plans to distribute millions of face masks to Americans in communities hard-hit by the coronavirus, starting next month, as part of his efforts to ensure “equity” in the pandemic response.
Mr Biden, who like Donald Trump’s administration considered sending masks to all Americans, is instead aiming to focus on underserved communities and those bearing the brunt of the outbreak.
Mr Trump’s administration shelved the plans entirely.
Masks will be distributed through federally qualified community health centres and the nation’s food bank and pantry systems, the White House announced on Wednesday.
The Departments of Defence, Health and Human Services, and Agriculture will be involved distributing more than 25 million American-made cloth masks in adult and child sizes.
The White House estimates they will reach between 12 million and 15 million people.
“Not all Americans are wearing masks regularly, not all have access and not all masks are equal,” said White House Covid-19 co-ordinator Jeff Zients.
The White House is not distributing the safer N95 masks, of which the US now has abundant supply after shortages early in the pandemic.
The cloth masks adhere to Centres for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and “certainly they meet those requirements set by our federal standard", said White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
Mr Biden hinted at the move on Tuesday during an online discussion with four black essential workers.
He said he expected his administration to send millions of masks to people around the country “very shortly".
Mr Biden has asked all Americans to wear face masks for the first 100 days of his term, saying models showed it could help to save 50,000 lives.
He also required masks to be worn in federal buildings and on public transport to try to slow the spread of the virus.
In late January, a Quinnipiac poll showed that 75 per cent of Americans said they wore a mask whenever they went out in public and were around others, and another 12 per cent said they wore a mask most of the time.
Mr Biden has made a virtue of his public displays of wearing a mask, whereas Mr Trump was only rarely seen covering his face while president.
Mr Biden has also required the use of masks around the White House, unlike Mr Trump, whose White House was the scene of at least three outbreaks of the virus.
Ms Psaki suggested this month that logistical concerns underpinned the decision to scale back the plans to send masks to all Americans.
“I think there are some underlying questions about how you target them, the masks, where they go to first. Obviously, it couldn’t happen immediately,” she said.
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Five healthy carbs and how to eat them
Brown rice: consume an amount that fits in the palm of your hand
Non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli: consume raw or at low temperatures, and don’t reheat
Oatmeal: look out for pure whole oat grains or kernels, which are locally grown and packaged; avoid those that have travelled from afar
Fruit: a medium bowl a day and no more, and never fruit juices
Lentils and lentil pasta: soak these well and cook them at a low temperature; refrain from eating highly processed pasta variants
Courtesy Roma Megchiani, functional nutritionist at Dubai’s 77 Veggie Boutique
It
Director: Andres Muschietti
Starring: Bill Skarsgard, Jaeden Lieberher, Sophia Lillis, Chosen Jacobs, Jeremy Ray Taylor
Three stars
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
