Polis administration is providing free KN95 and surgical-grade masks to people in Colorado at select locations (Click article for list)

DENVER (KKTV) - As Colorado continues to grapple with an increase of COVID-19 cases tied to the Omicron variant, the governor’s office announced a free tool that could offer a helping hand.

On Tuesday, Gov. Jared Polis’ office announced it was working alongside the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to provide free KN95 and surgical-grade masks at select locations across the state later this week.

Click here for a list of locations. Masks are expected to be available at these locations starting Thursday. Currently, these are the only locations distributing the free state-provided masks. Eventually, the state hopes to add more distributors, such as VFWs, YMCAs and fire departments.

The Colorado Springs and Pueblo fire departments both wish to remind the public that they are currently not mask distributors.

“We are on a mission to help Coloradans keep themselves safe, and free medical grade masks are far more effective in preventing infection than cloth masks,” said Gov. Jared Polis according to a news release. “By making free medical grade masks available at libraries across our state and soon for home delivery, we are giving Coloradans a powerful tool to avoid infection. We will continue to meet Coloradans where they are at when it comes to accessing the doctor approved vaccine, free testing at community sites, free tests delivered to your home and now providing free, surgical grade masks directly to communities.”

As of Tuesday, there was one location in Colorado Springs, the Security Public Library at 715 Aspen Drive. In Pueblo, multiple Pueblo City-County Library District locations are expected to have the free masks.

As of Tuesday night, Pikes Peak Library District had not received its order yet, but once delivered, both types of masks are expected to distributed to all open library locations and mobile library services across El Paso County.

“The library will make an announcement once these masks are available to the public,” part of a news release sent Tuesday night reads.