MADISON, Wis. — More than 5.4 million pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) have been distributed since the beginning of 2022, Gov. Tony Evers announced Monday.

Evers and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) said 5.4 million N95 and KN95 respirator masks have been distributed to more than 130 different locations throughout Wisconsin since Jan. 1. The 5.4 million includes 3.35 million masks just last week.

More than 533,000 of the masks have been distributed to school districts across the state.

“Keeping Wisconsinites healthy and safe continues to be my top priority as the landscape of this pandemic continues to shift and evolve,” Evers said. “In addition to getting vaccine shots in arms and expanding our COVID-19 testing efforts, ensuring that folks have access to high-quality masks and respirators is key to helping keep people safe and preventing the spread of COVID-19 while ensuring our kids continue learning in the classroom, our small businesses and main streets recover, and our workers to stay on the job.”

Additionally, major pharmacy chains including CVS and Walgreens are starting to distribute N95 masks for free throughout Wisconsin, as part of the Biden Administration's plan to curb the ongoing pandemic.