Wear a mask.
Love your neighbor.
Protect yourself. Stop COVID-19.

Mask the City is a community-wide effort in Winston-Salem, North Carolina to provide everyone access to a Nightingale™ WS Protective Mask, produced by Renfro Corporation, and urge them to wear masks as well as to continue social distancing for 40 days from April 22 through May 31, 2020 to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 in this area. The masks are being widely dispersed to the community under the program, and many are being provided by employers or other organizations at no cost to recipients.

Health Officials Stress the Need to Continue Using Both Masks and Social Distancing

About

William M. Satterwhite, III, JD, MD, Chief Wellness Officer at Wake Forest Baptist Health, designed the mask. The masks are being produced by Renfro Corporation, which has the ability to make a million masks a week at peak capacity and earmarked the first 300,000 masks for Winston-Salem.

Scores of Winston-Salem’s businesses, not-for-profit organizations and the City of Winston-Salem have committed to purchasing large numbers of the masks to provide to their employees, and, in some cases, to their employees’ families and others in need.

Because of its “face hugging” design and its exceptional contouring around the nose and chin, the Nightingale WS Protective Mask has a snugger fit than many other masks.

The Nightingale WS Protective Mask is not a NIOSH (CDC) Certified N95 respirator or an FDA approved (class II) surgical mask.

Nightingale WS Protective Mask

Updates

The Latest on Mask the City


Mask the City Completes Distribution Efforts

Update from Renfro Corporation about Nightingale Face Mask

Mask the City Completes Distribution Efforts

Lowes Foods to Sell Renfro Nightingale Face Masks

Lowes Foods Selling Masks

Mask the City to Provide Free Masks to Seniors on May 12

Tuesday, May 12 has been designed as Senior Day

Senior Day Locations

Mask the City Updated Partner Organization List

Updated Thursday, April 30, 2020

Mask the City Masks

"Workplace Restart" Initiative Accepting Requests from Local Businesses

The Piedmont Triad Regional Workforce Development Board in partnership with the Mask the City project provides face masks and health trainings to local business.

Mask the City Masks

"Workplace Restart" Initiative Launches Next Week

The Piedmont Triad Regional Workforce Development Board in partnership with the Mask the City project will provide masks and trainings to local business.

Mask the City Masks

Forsyth Seafood Market to sell a limited supply of masks today

Due to the overwhelming response this week, Mask the City is partnering with Forsyth Seafood Market to sell a limited supply of masks today.

Forsyth Seafood

Mask Distribution Begins in Winston-Salem

Community and Faith-Based Organizations to Distribute Masks Throughout the City

Mask Distribution Begins

Winston-Salem Community Leaders Unite for Mask the City Initiative to Combat COVID-19

Health Officials Stress the Need to Continue Using Both Masks and Social Distancing

Winston Salem Skyline

Instagram

See Mask the City in action.


How to Get Masks

Masks are available while supplies last at no cost to low-income individuals and other at-risk residents through a variety of community and faith-based organizations. The Ministers Conference of Winston-Salem and Love Out Loud are spearheading this effort. An initial list of organizations distributing masks at no cost can be found here.

Large orders can be placed directly with Renfro Corporation. Please click above to be redirected to Renfro’s website.

The Workplace Restart initiative provides up to two masks (subject to availability) and COVID- 19 health training to local employers and their staff. The Piedmont Triad Regional Workforce Development Board is spearheading this effort with the goal of getting small and midsize businesses open and people back to work while ensuring the health and safety of our workforce. If you are an employer in Forsyth, you can submit an interest form.

From Local Leaders


Mayor Allen Joines

Allen Joines

Mayor
City of Winston-Salem

I’m challenging every person in Winston-Salem to continue practicing social distancing and to wear a mask every time they go outside to help dramatically reduce the spread of COVID-19. I thank Dr. Satterwhite and his team for their entrepreneurship, Renfro for its willingness to produce the masks as well as the leadership of our two local health care organizations, the business community, government officials, faith-based organizations and other not-for-profit organizations for uniting our city under the Mask the City initiative.

The tagline for Mask the City is "Wear a mask. Love your neighbor. Protect yourself." It is imperative that we all do just that for 40 days to protect our community and change our trajectory for this summer. The next 40 days are a critical time, and we must be diligent. I am confident that the citizens of Winston-Salem will rise to the occasion under Mask the City. This is our time to shine for all America to see as we adapt to a ‘new normal’ until a vaccine is developed.

I thank the more than 800 local citizens who have made more than 27,000 masks through Project Winston-Salem to provide to health care workers and others throughout the community. The selfless volunteerism of those who have cut and sewn masks in their own homes in recent weeks was part of the inspiration for the Mask the City effort. The fact is we can use every mask that we can get our hands on, and I urge everyone to continue making masks. The need is enormous.

Don Flow

Don Flow

CEO
Flow Automotive Companies

Mask the City demonstrates the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of our community. When you see government, entrepreneurs, businesses, not-for-profits and faith organizations all working together for the common good, it reminds us what it means to be a community. This virus affects us all, and with all of us working together, I believe our Mask the City initiative will become a movement and serve as a model for other cities and communities.

Bill Satterwhite

William M. Satterwhite, III, JD, MD

Chief Wellness Officer,
Wake Forest Baptist Health

I love the people of this City, and I was determined for us to fight back as one united community against the havoc this virus is causing. Being able to provide high quality masks to the whole city all at once is a huge step in the direction of saying, 'We stand together against COVID-19!'

Stan Jewell

Stan Jewell

CEO and President
Renfro Corporation

Renfro is the largest sock manufacturer in the United States with more than 1,000 knitting machines located in Tennessee and Alabama. With sock demand suppressed due the temporary closure of many of our retail customers, we had available capacity. The need for protective masks was well publicized and we wanted to find a way to help. Renfro teamed with Wake Forest Baptist Health not just to make a mask, but to make a superior mask. The team collaboratively designed, developed and tested prototypes and arrived at a new product in just ten days. The resultant product has excellent protective properties, outstanding comfort, is washable and is made in the U.S.A. After finalizing the product design, we were able to ramp up production quickly and were delivering the new products within a week. Renfro has the ability to make approximately one million masks a week at peak capacity and is pleased to earmark the first 300,000 masks for Winston-Salem.

Julie Freischlag

Julie Ann Freischlag, MD

CEO, Wake Forest Baptist Health
Dean, Wake Forest School of Medicine

We are grateful to Dr. Satterwhite and his team for their innovation and design, and we are pleased to partner with Novant Health, the City of Winston-Salem and countless organizations and businesses throughout our area, to help keep those in our community safe and healthy. Over the past month, many hundreds of people in our community have selflessly come together and have devoted their time, energy and talents into helping us stay healthy. We are honored to join with them and build upon these grassroots efforts to show that we’re all in this together.

Jeff Lindsay

Jeff Lindsay

Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer
Novant Health

Our community has done a fantastic job of staying at home and flattening the curve. While masking won’t replace hand hygiene, social distancing and staying home, it’s another tool that we can use to keep each other safe. Mask the City will support our fight against the community spread of COVID-19, and help us get back to the people and places we love.

Mark Owens

Mark Owens

President
Greater Winston-Salem, Inc.

The Mask the City initiative is key in our efforts to reopen more businesses while maintaining safety for everyone. It is a perfect example of the innovative and collaborative way that we get things done in Winston-Salem. It's a visionary idea born in the Innovation Quarter and made into reality by everyone working together to achieve a common cause.

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Questions related to the Mask the City effort? Please email us at info@maskthecity.com

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