As groups and individuals around the city contribute personal protection equipment (PPE) to health professionals battling COVID-19, the Upper Grand District School Board has donated a hefty amount of gloves and masks to help address the shortage of PPE.
Over the weekend, staff from the board’s operations department assembled an inventory of gloves, masks and gowns.
The board is donating 100,000 single gloves and approximately 400 N95 masks to health agencies in the community. It will also be donating an unidentified number of gowns and surgical masks.
“These are unprecedented times and require everyone working together for the safety of all members of our communities. We want to do whatever we can, while following Public Health guidelines and Ministry directives, to support urgent local needs,” said UGDSB communications officer Heather Loney.
The supplies were collected from over 80 schools and administration sites and were extra supplies used for regular cleaning within the buildings.
The UGDSB will be working with Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health to distribute the materials to support urgent local needs.
Both local school boards are also using 3D printers to produce PPE face shields for local hospitals and health care professionals in the community.
“Currently the Wellington Catholic District School Board is completing an inventory of all available PPE in our schools," said WCDSB Director of Education Tamara Nugent.
"We are working in partnership with the Ministry and our local community to ensure that we are able to maximize the resources so that they can be directed to where there is the most urgent need for front line workers.
"Daily we are learning of opportunities for us to come together as a community in service to our community. Most recently we were able to relocate 3-D printers so that our staff and their families could participate in the Canadian Shield Project, producing visors and shields that are currently in demand
"Most recently we put out a call to our school communities to help sew much needed scrub hats and gowns. We are excited to be able to be part of a larger community effort to be a responsive and compassionate presence in the chaos that COVID-19 has caused.”
