Beginning Tuesday, February 1, free N95 masks will be available for pickup at Durham County Libraries and for all people receiving COVID-19 testing at Optum Serve testing locations in Durham. N95s will also be available by request for businesses and organizations. All masks are available for free, and no identification is needed for pickup.
N95 masks will be available at all Durham County Libraries locations except the Stanford L. Warren Library, which is currently closed for repairs. At these library sites, each household may pick up two bags of five free N95 masks, for a total of 10 masks per household. Mask pickup will be available at the COVID-19 screening station or front desk of each library at any time during the library’s regular hours of operations, beginning February 1. Library hours and locations can be found on the Durham County Library website at durhamcountylibrary.org/hours-and-locations.
“As COVID remains active in our community,” said Tammy Baggett-Best, Durham County Library Director, “we are thrilled to partner with the Durham County Department of Public Health to assist in providing convenient locations for mask distribution. Our commitment to the community goes beyond library related resources, and we are thrilled to offer assistance with this initiative.”
Masks will also be available for people receiving COVID-19 testing at Durham County Optum Serve testing locations at Wheels Fun Park, El Centro Hispano, Durham County Memorial Stadium, and 414 E. Main Street. To maintain safety and traffic control, these masks will be available for pickup only at the drive-through testing booth after completing testing. They will be unavailable for pickup for vehicles not in line for testing. Masks will be available during the regular hours of operations for each location:
· Durham County Memorial Stadium (750 Stadium Dr.): 11:00 AM-7:00 PM daily
· El Centro Hispano (2000 Chapel Hill Rd.): 10:00 AM-6:00 PM daily
· Wheels Fun Park (715 N. Hoover Rd.): 10:00 AM-6:00 PM daily
· 414 E. Main St.: Saturday-Sunday only, 9:00 AM-7:00 PM
More information about COVID-19 testing at these locations can be found on the Durham County Department of Public Health website at DCoPublicHealth.org/COVIDtesting.
Businesses, churches, or other community organizations interested in requesting larger quantities of N95 masks to distribute to employees or community members may submit a request at DCoPublicHealth.org/N95RequestForm (or DCoPublicHealth.org/N95RequestSpanish to complete the form in Spanish). Masks will be provided on a first-come-first-serve basis while supplies last. This request form is for use by businesses and organizations only; individuals interested in picking up masks from Durham libraries or testing sites do not need to complete a request form in order to pick up their masks.
“We are beyond pleased to be able to partner with our libraries, testing sites, and local businesses and organizations to get these free N95s out into the community,” said Durham County Public Health Director Rod Jenkins. “Through these partnerships we are making pickup available at convenient locations throughout Durham, and we hope all of our residents will take advantage of this opportunity to help better protect themselves and others from COVID-19.”
The CDC recommends the use of N95s for maximum protection against COVID-19. Per CDC mask guidance, “loosely woven cloth products provide the least protection, layered finely woven products offer more protection, well-fitting disposable surgical masks and KN95s offer even more protection, and well-fitting NIOSH-approved respirators (including N95s) offer the highest level of protection.” While the use of any mask is recommended over the use of no mask, people are encouraged to wear the highest-quality well-fitting mask available to them.
Masks are currently required while in public indoor spaces in Durham County. More information about the Durham County mask mandate can be found here.
More information about how to select and wear a mask for protection against COVID-19 can be found on the CDC website here.