HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Reno County will soon be able to provide some personal protective equipment to businesses and organizations that request it.
“What that means is that we can now provide masks and face shields to any business or infrastructure inside the county,” Emergency Management Director Adam Weishaar said. “So it can be big business, small business . . . even down to holding a protest, we can provide masks to them as well.”
Weishaar says that filling those requests could present a challenge for the county.
“I met with the Health Department last week and for a 30-day supply, we’re looking at somewhere around 100,000 masks and 30,000 gowns,” Weishaar said. “And we’re supposed to request 90 days.”
Weishaar says that anyone wanting protective gear should expect to wait about a week before requests can be filled and asked for patience from those wanting PPE.
“The Health Department is putting together a more streamlined form so they can handle the requests moving forward,” Weishaar said. “What we’re asking all of the businesses to do right now is to just hold tight with us . . . we probably won’t see any supplies until sometime next week.”
Weishaar says the county may need to establish a storage area and system for distributing PPE once the program gets underway.