The University of Guelph is making another large donation of personal protection equipment (PPE) to local public health authorities to help in the fight against COVID-19.

The latest donation includes more than 100,000 pairs of nitrile gloves and 2,300 N95 masks, as well as isolation gowns, sanitizer and nasopharyngeal swabs.

The equipment will be distributed to local hospitals and health care facilities through organizers at the Guelph Community Health Centre.

This donation follows a shipment of 10,000 N95 masks and two ventilators from the Ontario Veterinary College provided by the University to local health care centres in late March to help alleviate shortages of much-needed equipment.

“Once again, we are happy to step up and do what we can to help our local health-care workers continue to provide care for those in need,” said Don O’Leary, vice-president (finance, administration and risk). “The University is committed to doing all we can to support the fight against COVID-19.”

For this latest donation, U of G gathered equipment from across campus, including the labs and animal facilities in several of the University’s colleges as well as the University’s Hospitality Services and Athletics departments.

Melissa Horan, Wellness@Work coordinator in U of G’s human resources department, helped reach out to the University community and was delighted with how many staff and faculty came onto campus to answer the call for donations.

“We were pleased to hear back from 135 units, departments and labs who gave what they had in their inventories,” she said.

Alison Burnett, director of Student Wellness Services, which helped coordinate these donations, said this initiative is a great example of how U of G has helped respond to local needs.

“We will continue to work with our community partners to respond to their needs and to look for more ways the University can contribute to the fight against COVID-19.”