Detroit bus riders given free surgical masks

Those riding Detroit's public buses are being given a free gift when they board.

Surgical masks.

The Detroit Department of Transportation on Wednesday began providing riders with the masks when they boarded the motor coaches. Masks will be available on every DDOT bus and available, one per rider, at no cost while supplies last.

According to the city, Mayor Mike Duggan worked with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to secure 20,000 masks.

"I don't have an immune system, so I have to fight off everything by myself. So, yes, I think it was awesome for them to put masks on the bus," said LaWanda Adams, who has been riding Detroit buses for more than 40 years.

"You don't know what you're going to catch when you don't have this mask and these gloves," said Adams, who was wearing a mask she picked up on her bus route Wednesday. "And then when the bus gets crowded, you're sitting so close next to each other, because we have to ride the bus, the public transportation."

The masks are located in a box in the back. Riders are asked to be diligent in only touching the mask they take and to only take one.

Bus driver JaVita Brown said some of her passengers were not abiding by the only-take-one rule.

"How do you monitor that just from sitting up here? You tell them to take one. I've had people take five or six," she said. "So, when your box runs out, what do you do toward the end of the day? But something's better than nothing."

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. Older adults and people with existing health problems are among those particularly susceptible to more severe illness, including pneumonia.