Cooper Health donating 200,000 KN95 masks to Camden County community

Ahmad Austin Jr., Burlington County Times
·1 min read

Cooper University Health on Wednesday announced it was donating 200,000 masks to Camden County residents.

A Face Mask Required sign is posted on the front window at Francescos Pizzeria Ristorante in Burlington City.
A Face Mask Required sign is posted on the front window at Francescos Pizzeria Ristorante in Burlington City.

The masks will be distributed to schools, senior centers and other community organizations by the Camden County Metro Police and County Sheriff's departments. Though they're non-medical grade, the masks are significantly more effective than cloth masks in preventing the spread of COVID-19.

"As the Omicron variant continues to be present throughout the community, we want to provide residents with an additional measure of protection for themselves and others," Cooper Co-CEO Kevin O'Dowd said. "Masks are a powerful weapon in our fight to slow the spread of this virus."

More: N95 is best, but keep using cloth masks if that's all you have, experts urge

When masks like the N95 and KN95 were in short supply, Cooper made a similar donation of 375,000 cloth masks to first responders and schools in Camden, Burlington and Gloucester counties.

Camden has so far given 80% of its residents at least one vaccine dose. Still, Mayor Vic Carstarphen said, the masks are essential in combating the latest wave.

"Getting these masks into my city is imperative, we need to make sure that our residents have the ability to wear high quality masks that will make them stronger against this virus," Carstarphen said. "The person-to-person transmission of COVID has been off the charts over the last two months and these masks will provide another barrier to this insidious virus, so I want to take this opportunity to thank our partners at Cooper University Health Care with this assist in the continued fight against this disease."

Ahmad Austin Jr. is a lifelong South Jersey resident telling stories within the healthcare and cannabis industries for Burlington County Times, Courier-Post and The Daily Journal. For story tips, reach out at aaustin@gannett.com.

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This article originally appeared on Burlington County Times: 200,000 KN95 masks coming to Camden County to prevent Omicron spread