On Monday, Jan. 24 on the Great Lawn, Oak Park High School set up tables to distribute N95 masks to all high school students. 

Students could receive up to two high-quality N95 masks. 

“N95 masks will help keep the spread of [COVID-19] cases low,” OPHS Principal Matt McClenahan said in a StudentSquare post. “We hope all students will take advantage of our offering and come get a mask or two on Monday.”

A properly worn N95 can filter out up to 95% of particles in the air, thanks to its tight fit and synthetic material made up of tiny fibers charged with electrostatic energy.

In a partnership of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services with the Department of Education, nearly 21 million N95 masks have gone out to county offices of education in California. 

Sacramento County’s Office of Education received about 950,000 N95s, according to Cal OES spokesperson Tim Herrera.

“Each district will pick up their allotment of masks – the number determined by the state – and then get them to the students, teachers, and staff in their districts with whatever process they decide,” Hererra said.

County offices of education are also able to request cleaning wipes and hand sanitizer. Overall, more than 1 billion units of personal protective equipment have been sent to counties, schools, medical facilities and local communities in California, according to Cal OES.

Since the New Year, Ventura County has received around 520,000 units of N95 masks. For the exact list of mask distributions in California counties, click here.

According to Director of Student Support and School Safety Brad Benioff, masks were given to the Ventura County Office of Education, and Oak Park Unified School District’s Maintenance and Operations staff picked them up. 

“Masks were allotted to all schools,” Benioff said. “We were given enough for 2 masks for each student.” 

The government did not provide enough equipment to make free mask distribution a weekly, or even monthly, occurrence. 

“I would love to have a delivery each week!” said Benioff. “There has been news of additional deliveries by the federal government, but we have not had notice of delivery as of yet.  There is no indication that more will be delivered at this time.” 

While N95 masks were easily sized for high school students, it was a struggle for elementary and middle schoolers. 

“To be honest, it is frustrating that [the masks] were given only once, and some were not the right size to give out to younger kids,” Benioff said. “However, we do have surgical masks that any student can request — that is ongoing.”

For now, N95 masks still offer the best protection against viral substances and are highly recommended by both the Center for Disease Control and the California Department of Public Health. 

“The best guidance comes from the CDC and CDPH,” Benioff said. “N95s are the best protection, KN95s next, then surgical masks. Here is a link to that guidance.”

To check out detailed differences between the most common types of masks, click here.