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Kuharchik Construction in Exeter has donated more than 1,000 3M masks and more than 95 respirators to Luzerne County for disbursement to hospitals, emergency workers and county Children and Youth and aging agency caseworkers still working amid the coronavirus pandemic, county Manager C. David Pedri announced Wednesday.
“We come here today with a story of hope, a story of volunteerism,” Pedri said, noting his phone has been “ringing off the hook” with inquiries from residents and businesses interested in helping. “We are the valley with a heart.”
Robert Bresnahan, CEO of the company that has been in business since the 1970s, said he checked his inventory of the masks and respirators yesterday after hearing U. S. Vice President Michael Pence’s plea for donations of the emergency supplies from construction companies.
Bresnahan encouraged other companies to step up. The masks are the type approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he said. The masks normally cost $25 for a box of 10 but are now fetching $30 to $40 each due to the coronavirus.
“This is about people helping people,” Bresnahan said.
Check back later for an update.
Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.