Still Need A Face Covering? Orange County Company Holding Saturday Giveaway
BREA (CBSLA) — A lot has changed in the past month as counties and cities across Southern California have extended stay-at-home orders and increased measures to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus — including wearing face coverings while outdoors.
And for one Orange County company, the pandemic has changed everything about its business.
"We went from being a t-shirt manufacturer to now being a face mask manufacturer," owner Abdul Rashid said. "When we started the operation, as far as making masks three weeks ago, the first day it was 1,200 masks. Today we are over 100,000 masks per day."
On one day, Bayside Apparel was the largest upscale t-shirt maker in California and the next were facing massive layoffs in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
The company switched to making masks and gave them away for free to health care workers, then the Federal Emergency Management Agency called and ordered 1 billion.
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But Rashid has not forgotten his promise to take care of his community in this time of crisis.
"We don't have time, but you know what, it's not always about making money," he said. "It's about doing the right thing."
On Saturday at 10 a.m., the company will give away 20,000 face coverings to the first 5,000 cars that show up at the Brea warehouse, 2701 E. Imperial Highway.
"Every car that drives through here will get four masks," Rashid said.
Brea Mayor Pro Tem Steven Vargas has been busy packing up masks to give away.
"They're mandatory that they have to have masks," he said. "We as a city can't tell somebody you have to have a mask if they're not available."
And on Saturday, hundreds of volunteers will hand out masks to drivers as they sit in their cars. Brea police will help direct traffic off of Imperial Highway onto Kramer and into the parking lot.
Those who can't make it to the Saturday giveaway can order a pack of four masks online for $20.
