Saskatoon-based Benchmark Personal Protective Equipment is providing 18 thousand face shields and four million masks to Saskatchewan schools, to help keep students and school staff safe. The province made the purchase.

The masks and shields are the third batch of school personal protective equipment the province has purchased. They are being shipped to Saskatchewan’s school divisions and independent schools this week.

This is in addition to the 8.4 million disposable masks previously distributed to school divisions and independent schools. It’s also in addition to masks that school divisions may have purchased on their own and masks that many parents are providing for their children.

there were also 28,000 face shields that were provided to schools in the fall through a company based in Ontario.
A Request for Bids (RFB) is currently open on SaskTenders for 210,000 non-medical cloth face masks. The RFB closes on January 14 and the reusable masks are expected to be delivered directly to school divisions and independent schools by the end of January.

These supplies are being purchased using the $10 million allocated to the Ministry of Education for the purchase of PPE for schools.