Health Department halts distribution of free face masks
The Shelby County Health Department has stopped distributing the black, knitted face masks provided by the state of Tennessee for the public.
The masks, manufactured by Renfro Corp., were treated with the anti-microbial Silvadur, which delivers a low concentration of silver ions to fabric surfaces to control odor-generating bacteria.
At least one form of Silvadur is a registered pesticide.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee puts on his face mask during a press conference outside the former Commercial Appeal building on Monday, May 18, 2020. The former newspaper building has been turned into an emergency hospital that could house COVID-19 patients. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
The Shelby County Health Department received 511,560 masks and had distributed 395,640 masks.
The City of Memphis received 40,000 masks from the Health Department. It has distributed 10,000 from city libraries.
“We immediately stopped giving out masks late Friday when we learned about the masks being treated with Silvadur,” said city spokeswoman Ursula Madden.
According to Renfro, the manufacturer, the masks purchased by Tennessee meet all applicable FDA and EPA requirements and have been determined to be safe for use in consumer products.
Reporters over the weekend in Nashville, it says, mistakenly linked coverage to another mask the company produces.
The state purchased 5 million masks in a no-bid contract with Renfro worth $8 million. As of Friday, when it halted distribution, 3.2 million masks had been sent to Health Departments across the state.
“We have paused further distribution of free masks to county health departments while further inquiry is pursued,” said Gillum Ferguson, Gov. Bill Lee’s spokesman.
Bartlett resident Allan Creasy, a Democratic candidate for the 97th House District seat, said he went to a branch of the Shelby County Health Department to get a mask Monday morning and was told they were temporarily unavailable.
He believes they are on hold because they’re “toxic,” and he is “infuriated.”
“Not only is it a disgusting waste of our tax money, but we are asking everyone to use facial covering, and especially those who are most economically challenged in our county. We’re asking them to wear facial covering, but we’re providing something to them that could make them sick. And that’s disgusting to me.”
Creasy wants to people who received the masks know they are “potentially dangerous” and wants the state to take bids for masks, instead of a no-bid contract, so it can put together a stockpile in case of a COVID-19 surge.
The state spent $8 million on a no-bid contract with Renfro in Cleveland. The governor has the authority to suspend bidding in an emergency.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has information and guidance about facial coverings, including instructions for making a cloth facial covering, on its website here.
Folks are picking up Gov Lee’s masks from the health dept. Package says not for medical use. A friend picked 1 up and said it looks like somebody cut a sock in half it’s very porous and I can see through it. It’s like trying to keep chipmunks out of your garden with chicken wire. pic.twitter.com/0VZnfc9X6f
— Gloria Johnson (@VoteGloriaJ) May 6, 2020
For more information about COVID-19 and the use of facial coverings, call the Shelby County Health Department’s COVID-19 hotline (833-943-1658) or visit the Health Department’s COVID-19 webpage.
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anti-microbial Shelby County Health Department Face MasksJane Roberts
Longtime journalist Jane Roberts is a Minnesotan by birth and a Memphian by choice. She's lived and reported in the city more than two decades. She covers business news and features for The Daily Memphian.
Sam Stockard
Sam Stockard is a Nashville-based reporter with more than 30 years of journalism experience as a writer, editor and columnist covering the state Legislature and Tennessee politics for The Daily Memphian.
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