The DPI has been investigating reports from several schools that have received unsolicited shipments of adult and/or child cloth face masks. Some shipments have reportedly included KN95 or KN90 respirators.
It appears they are being sent by the Wisconsin Emergency Management Center using the same list of schools from which they distributed other face coverings this summer. Private schools were included in that distribution.
These shipments are not in response to any new CDC suggestions for “double masking” which is currently under review by the Department of Health Services, says DPI Nurse Consultant Louise Wilson.
She says there is no change in what PPE should be used in schools. So, you need not use the unsolicited shipments to replace what you are currently using.
Wilson notes a non-counterfeited KN95 or KN90 mask will provide more protection from aerosols than a cloth face mask, or a surgical mask. Therefore, use that information as you determine how to deploy the materials arriving at your schools.
Of those materials, Emergency Management says “we would recommend that they [school staff] use those on a daily basis in enclosed areas where there are the most staff and students present. There is no fit testing requirement, just adjust the mask so it fits the best on their face. It will not be nearly as effective with large mustaches and beards.”
Contact natalie.easterday@wisconsin.gov from Wisconsin Emergency Management if you have further questions regarding these shipments and how to use the supplies.
