ISU reveals cost of supplying KN95 masks to all on campus

Administrators said recent data show KN95 masks provide a “heightened degree of protection. (WJBC file photo)

By HOI ABC

NORMAL – All students, faculty, and staff at Illinois State University are receiving KN95 masks at no cost to them, but it’s costing the school $23,000, a university spokesperson said Thursday.

ISU is paying that amount for industrial supply company Grainger to quickly deliver 25,000 KN95s, said university spokesperson Eric Jome.

He said ISU is receiving 25,000 more of the KN95s from the state government at no cost to the university.

Jome said ISU started distributing higher-quality masks on Tuesday to almost 20,000 students and about 3,500 employees.

The masks are being handed out across campus in packs of two before students return to in-person learning for the first time since the the holiday break. Classes were held virtually the first two weeks to slow the spread of the Omicron variant.

Administrators said recent data show KN95 masks provide a “heightened degree of protection.

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…