Here's Where To Find N95 Masks In The Milwaukee Area As Cloth Masks Make An Exit

MILWAUKEE, WI — Milwaukee's health department will hand out 500,000 N95 masks Thursday to protect against COVID-19 as Wisconsin hospitals begin to require everyone to switch from cloth masks to medical-grade masks while inside.

The Milwaukee Health Department will give away masks at three of its testing centers Thursday through drive-up services, the department said in a statement. Each car will receive a pack of 20 N95 masks, and the department will hand out masks as long as supplies last.

Here is a list of the department's main testing locations.

Northwest Health Center

• 7630 W. Mill Road
  • 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays and Fridays.
  • Noon to 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.
  • 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.

Southside Health Center

• 1639 S. 23rd St.
  • 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays and Fridays.
  • Noon to 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.
  • 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.

Menomonee Valley Site

• 2401 W. St. Paul Ave.
  • Noon to 6 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
  • 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Check the health department's online map for mask pickup locations. When masks run out, the health department will have distributed a million masks this week.

The N95 masks are reusable if properly cleaned between uses, the health department said. To clean an N95 or KN95 mask, leave it in a breathable paper bag, close it and let it sit at room temperature for at least 72 hours. Don't use clean and reuse masks more than five times, the department added.

While getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is the best tool to fight back against the virus, masking is critically important to mitigate the spread of the virus, Milwaukee Health Commissioner Kirsten Johnson said. "The higher N95 masks are even more effective in protecting against the Omicron variant," Johnson said.

Staff reported some hostility from a few people waiting in line for masks, public health spokesperson Emily Tau said. The department is doing its best to get masks to the community but asked everyone to be patient, Johnson said.

See Also: Line Jumping, Altercations In COVID-19 Test Lines: Officials

Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin started requiring everyone to wear medical-grade masks inside its facilities as of Jan. 1, and the hospital said it would supply masks to those who don't have them.

The Milwaukee VA Medical Center also requires everyone inside to wear a surgical, N95 or KN95 mask, FOX 6 Milwaukee reported. Cloth masks will no longer be allowed.

Why don't cloth masks cut it anymore? Surgical-grade masks offer the best type of protection over cloth masks, Ajay Sethi, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, told WKOW.

Masking up is important as the omicron variant, the variant behind most COVID-19 cases in the Midwest right now, is more infectious and more people are out in public than in the early months of the pandemic, Sethi added.

RELATED: COVID-19: When Omicron Will Peak In WI, According To Experts

If supplies at city testing sites quickly run out, people can still buy upgraded masks directly from 3M, N95 Mask Co and Project N95.

People buying N95 or KN95 masks online should watch for counterfeit masks, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that 60 percent of KN95 masks in the United States are counterfeit and don't meet the standards to block COVID-19 infection.