The Postal Service is providing all employees with new face coverings, part of the organization’s effort to ensure their safety and well-being during the coronavirus pandemic.
Hot-weather cloth face coverings are being distributed and are available for mail carriers, vehicle maintenance facility employees and others who work outside in districts where average temperatures are expected to reach 90 degrees or higher this summer.
The coverings are designed to provide a comfortable fit and are made of a fabric that pulls moisture away from the skin. The coverings can also be dampened with water for a cooling effect.
These coverings will help protect the people around you. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cloth face coverings are most likely to reduce the spread of the coronavirus when they are widely used in public settings.
USPS began distributing these face coverings in June, a process that will continue into July.
The organization is also distributing a black mask to employees who primarily work indoors at more than 250 processing plants.
Additionally, in June, the Postal Service began distributing a third face covering — a gray adjustable mask that is designed to be worn indoors or outdoors — to every USPS, Postal Inspection Service and Office of Inspector General employee.
Each of these face coverings is reusable and designed to be washed and worn again.
District and area offices will receive the gray masks first, followed by headquarters in Washington, DC, and each headquarters field unit. The USPS Material Distribution Center in Topeka, KS, is automatically distributing these masks, so district, area and headquarters sites don’t have to place orders.
Face coverings that USPS previously distributed are still available and can be requested from a manager or supervisor. When local supplies are depleted, orders should be requested through the district supply coordinator.
Employees are also authorized to wear their own personal face coverings.
Employees with questions can contact the COVID-19 Supplies Command Center at covidsuppliescommandcenter@usps.gov.
Additional information is available on the COVID-19 Blue and LiteBlue pages, including a list of district supply coordinators.
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