Pleasanton Police Department Received Donation of 2000 Masks

Effective Wednesday, April 22, anyone working at or visiting an essential business in Alameda or Contra Costa counties must wear a face covering.

“We are glad that the hard-working police officers receive more high-quality masks. They need to be protected in the first place. So we decided to donate 2,000 face mask to the police department.” Emily Zhou, the president of the Hunan Association of San Francisco-Bay Area, said.

How does the stockpile look like in the local city and the Police Department?

Till early this week, the City of Pleasanton had 1600 masks available. Many police officers are using homemade masks.

“Previously, we received a large donation of surgical masks and currently have about 1,600 remaining.” City officials responded.

“What could we do to help?” As a long-time Pleasanton resident, Emily Zhou has been trying hard to find resources to help the community in need.

Four weeks ago, she was able to get a contribution from Hunan province. “I got a donation of 10,000 masks at that time.”

But the regulations from CDC and FDA tightened. “There was news about Chinese masks that do not comply with FDA codes, which made us worry a lot.” Sylvia Tian, the TVAA founding president, said.

US and China have two different quality systems. The masks donated are high-quality masks, but they may not be manufactured in an FDA complied factory. Because the application and certification processing time are quite long on the US side, FDA certificate is not as popular as other certificates in China.

No one wants to donate masks and to be criticized in the end. Getting to understand mask regulations became a part of the critical process.

In the same week, express shipping reduced dramatically. Chinese airlines to the US cut to only once each week. Cargo flight by Shun Feng, one of the biggest express shipping companies in China, has been backlogged too. DHL announced that they would not take any shipment to the US and Australia.

Last but not least, after Spain complained about the quality of imported masks, China issued more strict regulations on exporting masks and medical supplies to control the quality, which meant more inspection and waiting time.

After totally about four weeks, the shipment of the 10,000 masks (in 7 boxes) from Hunan province arrived into US customs.

“The six boxes of masks were delivered in four separate days. Till now, there is still one box of 1,600 masks that are pending in customs.” Emily said.

If only the masks can talk, they would be able to explain how many dramatic moments they have encountered during the whole trip from the Hunan province to the city of Pleasanton.

Luckily, the ending is good. Two thousand of these masks end up in the hands of Police officers in Pleasanton. Others delivered to the residents in the San Francisco Bay Area.

After April 17, the Alameda County issued an order requiring all visitors and employees of essential businesses to wear face coverings or masks. On Wednesday, April 22, the grace period ends, and anyone who is not wearing a mask in public could end up facing a fine or even imprisonment.

Under the mandatory order, masks are required inside or waiting outside to enter an essential business like a grocery store, when visiting a doctor or other health care provider, riding a bus, rideshare, or other public transportation.