The Orange County Health Department announced another shipment of N95 masks will be available to the public for free this Friday, February 11.

The department said Wednesday will distribute the masks at two locations while supplies last: the Orange County Public Library in Hillsborough and the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service in Carrboro. Both open at 9 a.m. on Friday.

The county received 14,000 masks from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, with an additional 5,000 coming from the Emergency Services Department, for a total of 19,000 masks. 9,500 masks will be available at each site, with five masks in each individual bag. Each household may receive up to two bags each, according to the department.

During the county’s last N95 mask giveaway, on January 31, the mask supply was exhausted in less than two hours. During that giveaway, masks were given out in packs of 20 at a time.

N95s have been singled out as the most effective mask against the omicron variant of COVID-19. You can also request masks and other PPE from the state government online at this link.

Orange County’s mask distribution is part of a larger local, statewide and national effort to give away N95 masks in the wake of the latest COVID surge. Earlier this year, President Joe Biden announced plans to distribute 400 million N95s nationwide. UNC student leaders also distributed 10,000 N95 masks at an event on campus in January.

 

Featured image via the Center for Disease Control

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