Walz: Millions of free KN95 masks to be sent to schools, groups

Krystal Frasier KSTP

Credit: Miki Yoshihito / CC BY 2.0

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz says the state is in the process of distributing more than 2 million KN95 masks to schools and community groups.

Thursday morning, the governor’s office announced there will be 2.1 million free KN95 masks sent to community groups, local public health agencies, schools and other groups.

State officials say organizations that receive the masks will provide them directly to citizens, and will inform communities on how to get their masks.

Walz’s office didn’t immediately say how the state was acquiring the masks, how much they cost, or how the masks were being paid for. 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reached out for those details, and was referred to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH).

The MDH says the masks are coming from a large PPE stockpile that was established by the state throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The masks include those supplied to the state by FEMA at no-cost, as well as those purchased using state and emergency funds. according to the MDH.

According to Walz’s office, about 650,000 of the 2.1 million masks will be sent to public health agencies for residents, while schools will receive 550,000 masks for staff and students. That will leave about 900,000 masks for child care centers, tribal nations and clinics who serve Medicaid enrollees.

Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) are recommending community members wear high-quality masks such as N95 or KN95 masks to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

As previously reported by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, scientists say both N95 and KN95 masks not only have a denser weave able to filter out 95% of airborne particles, but they’re also made from a plastic material called polypropylene that has an embedded electric charge.

Experts say the woven materials in cloth masks block only 10-35% of viral droplets.

The Centers for Disease Control recommends that you don’t use N95 or KN95 masks more than five times. Additionally, the agency says deterioration of the mask or any fraying of the straps are signs you should toss them out.

Last week, the Biden Administration announced it was going to give away 400 million N95 masks starting next week, which would be free to U.S. citizens.

The White House announced the masks would come from the government’s Strategic National Stockpile, which reportedly has more than 750 million of the masks on hand. Those masks will be available at pharmacies and community health centers across the country.