Free face masks delivered to Spanish homes in Madrid region

Officials in Torrejon de Ardoz, in the Madrid region, delivered 10 sanitary masks to everyone last Thursday.

It’s the district where the first coronavirus cases were detected in the region.

136,331 citizens of the city – which is 14 miles from the capital – received a pack in their letterbox.

The free masks – paid for from the municipal budget – were distributed by the local police in plastic bags.

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Dear Torrejon de Ardoz citizens:

I give you a set of masks in case any member of the family has to make use of them, that our City Council has wanted to acquire in the face of the difficulty that avoids to buy them.

I convey to you a great deal of strength and encouragement, we will emerge from this situation with solidarity and common effort.

A warm and sincere embrace to all.

Personal message from the local mayor

The mayor, Ignacio Vazquez said: “We have taken this initiative because of the shortage of masks in our local pharmacies”

The 550, 000 distributed masks were similar to the 10 millon masks that Spanish government distributed across Madrid’s public transport network earlier in the week, as 300, 000 people returned to work.

“The town hall of Torrejon de Ardoz has acquired 550,000 masks against the difficulty of many of us to buy them.

“The 10 masks are single use, although they can be washed with soap and water.”

Vazquez added: “I am proud to be part of Torrejón de Ardoz, we are the first city in Spain which has taken this action”.

Some citizens expressed their appreciation for free masks initiative and show their thanks on Twitter:

The virus has since spread to all Spanish regions, with the Community of Madrid suffering the highest number of cases with 61 thousand people. 

However, the number of recovered people (882,909) in Spain overcome the number of deaths (207,257).