GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Medical professionals say the omicron variant is more transmissible.
“So it spreads more easily between people,” Aurora BayCare Medical Center Associate Chief Medical Officer Dr. Donald Beno said.
Some types of masks might not protect you as well as others.
“So the cloth mask which doesn’t protect as well as the surgical mask and definitely not as well as an N95 mask would mean that you’re more likely to be infected wearing that than other options,” Beno said.
Some local school districts are making efforts to make medical-grade masks more accessible for students and staff.
Although the Green Bay Area Public School District already has a small supply of disposable masks available, the district is in the process of buying an additional one million disposable masks for students and staff to use.
“As we learn more and more about the virus and we listen to the medical professionals, and they’re saying hey, we think the best way to do this is with these 3-ply disposables, then we have to adjust and we follow what their guidance is,” Green Bay Area Public School District Director of Procurement Jake Alverson said.
The disposable masks will be recommended, but not required.
Students and staff can still wear their own masks.
The masks will cost just under 5.5 cents a piece and the district will be using federal dollars to purchase them.
Although medical professionals say N95 and surgical masks may be better at preventing spread, Dr. Beno says that any mask is better than no mask at all.
“Having one on, no matter what kind of mask it is, is going to be beneficial to every person,” Beno said.
Doctors also encourage people to make sure the mask they are wearing fits well.
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