WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – After getting 51,000 KN95 face masks from the state to help slow the spread of COVID-19, Jefferson County has announced a distribution plan.
Officials say the masks are far more effective than plain cloth masks at filtering out airborne particles, including the highly contagious omicron variant of COVID.
The state wants the masks given out to the people of Jefferson County. However, officials say it won’t be possible to provide a mask to every resident since the population of Jefferson County is more than 115,000.
Here’s the distribution plan:
- Masks are being provided to each town in Jefferson County, the city of Watertown, and several human service non-profit agencies such as Community Action Planning Council, Watertown Urban Mission and Salvation Army.
- The towns, city and agencies will announce where and when community members can obtain masks next week.
This is a one-time allotment of masks with no further supplies anticipated at this time.
Some KN95 masks are available in retail stores for purchase. Officials say all KN95 masks generally have limited re-use and should be disposed of after extended use.
For those who are unable to obtain a KN95 mask, the CDC recommends wearing two masks (disposable surgical paper mask underneath and cloth mask on top) for extra protection.
Officials said they expect Jefferson County will receive home COVID test kits from the state. However, they said they haven’t been advised on any estimated time of arrival or guidance on the distribution of the test kits.
They said the county will issue a press release when test kits have been received.
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