In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in schools, South Carolina has provided $33 million worth of protective equipment to schools across the state.

State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman recently hosted a press conference where she said the state continues to fulfill all requests made by schools regarding protective gear to protect students, faculty and staff from COVID-19.

In an effort to reopen in-person learning, over 1,300 schools in South Carolina have received some type of protective equipment.

The state still has a substantial amount of funds from the federal COVID-19 relief money to provide more protective equipment for any schools that still need it. 

The South Carolina Department of Education recently made another sizable purchase of gear that included 300,000 sheets of Plexiglass, 3.3 million face masks, 87,000 face shields, 41,000 gallons of hand sanitizer, and 600,000 boxes of disinfectant wipes.

Spearman also addressed the recent purchase saying, “This statewide order will not only ensure that face-to-face operations can be maintained for the foreseeable future but will also provide the necessary resources to phase in additional face-to-face learning as health and safety conditions allow.”