Anyone in the Hattiesburg area who has been unable to find a face mask during the COVID-19 pandemic should no longer have that problem, as the City of Hattiesburg, Forrest County and Lamar County have teamed up with Spartan Mosquito to distribute 60,000 masks to residents at no cost.
Jeremy Hirsch, owner of Spartan Mosquito – which has offices in Hattiesburg, Petal and Laurel – said he donated the masks because he was aware of how difficult it was to procure the coverings, and he wanted everyone who wanted one to be able to have one.
“There was a need, and we knew we could fill it,” he said. “When you look at everywhere else that this COVID has taken off, kind of the prevailing narrative from everyone is that we don’t need to overwhelm the hospitals, and that’s why we’re doing all of this to begin with.
“So if there’s a way to help us not overload the hospitals, why not help, and maybe we can return more quickly to economic prosperity, rather than losing jobs. We did it because we could, and it needed to be done.”
The masks were delivered to Jackie Dole Sherrill Community Center, where businesses like Target came to pick up some of the masks. The rest were delivered around the community by city employees, including Betsy Mercier, who serves as assistant to Mayor Toby Barker.
The masks, which are made of cloth, are available beginning this weekend at both Hattiesburg Walmarts, all five Corner Market/Sunflower locations, Target, Lowe’s, Home Depot, Dollar General stores on Edwards Street, Hardy Street and Red Street, both Hattiesburg Walgreens, both Hardy Street CVS locations, Sullivan Grocery on James Street and Nathan Jordan’s Palmers Crossing Store. The masks also are available at Hattiesburg Fire Department stations, including Station 1 on Main Street, Station 2 on Arledge Street, Station 3 on Academy Drive, Station 4 on Mississippi 42, Station 5 on East Hardy Street, Station 6 on Montague Boulevard, Station 7 on Parkway Boulevard and Station 8 on Lamar Boulevard.
In Lamar County, the masks can be found at Piggly Wiggly in Lumberton, Ramey’s Grocery store in Sumrall and Purvis, and any Lamar County volunteer fire department. Individuals who wish to pick them up at those fire departments are asked to call first at (601) 794-5190.
The masks are available on a first-come, first served basis. If a location is out of masks, residents are asked to call the City of Hattiesburg at (601) 545-4501, visit the city’s Facebook page, or email mayor@hattiesburgms.com to be directed to the best place to receive one.
Officials encourage everyone to continue practicing social distancing guidelines, even while wearing a mask. While limits on the masks will not be imposed, residents are asked to take only the amount needed.
The masks are reusable and washable, and meet Centers for Disease Control standards for fabric face covers.
“Our latest executive order required that employees at essential businesses wear masks and we also made the recommendation that the general public wears masks when they are out running essential errands,” Barker said. “Thanks to this local business, we have been able to take an innovative path forward in putting masks in the hands of many as we continue to navigate life through this pandemic.”
To get the masks, Hirsch worked with JMH Graphics owner Jason Spiers, who contacted Hirsch to let him know he’d found a company with a stock of the items.
“I said, ‘great, buy everything they have,’ because in a day or two they’re going to be gone anyway,” Hirsch said. “So we bought everything they had and brought those in.
“The cloth masks are good – they can kind of prevent you from touching your face and reduce the droplets that may come out of your mouth a little bit. So they are some preventative, but it’s not the greatest thing in the world.”
To that end, Hirsch is waiting on an order of 100,000 KN95 masks to come in, although he’s not quite sure when that will be.
“Those are much better masks,” he said. “I know there are different needs for different folks.
“But JMH was instrumental in the cloth masks, and I think it’s also about raising awareness with individuals around town.”
