SANTA FE SPRINGS 12/04/09 - More than 1 million surgical masks and gloves made their way to the Southland school districts as part of a statewide effort to combat the spread of swine flu.  

"Despite the best efforts of our public health and public school systems, we know some will become ill" this season, said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell, who gathered Friday with several state and county leaders at a Santa Fe Springs warehouse where the supplies were being stored.

According to federal guidelines, the best way to prevent the spread of viruses is by staying home if sick, covering coughs and sneezes, washing or sanitizing hands frequently, and getting a flu vaccine.

However, if a student becomes ill at school, the guidelines say the child should be taken to a supervised sick room separate from others and wear a surgical mask if they can tolerate it.

"Of course, we welcome these new supplies - and they will indeed help us as we try to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus."

At the East Whittier City School District, Assistant Superintendent Linda Low said officials weren't sure if they'd be able to afford the supplies on their own.

"For us, it was looking to be cost-prohibitive to have all the masks available at all of our sites," she said. "So this is really helpful."

The California State Department of Education, Emergency Management Agency and Department of General Services were able to buy more than 23 million masks and gloves for California schools with two federal grants.

Among those who participated in Friday's distribution to Los Angeles County school districts were from private shipping companies including FedEx, Golden State Overnight, Mountain Valley Express and OnTrac.

There is also an upcoming press conference this week in San Francisco in which Phil Rankin, Mountain Valley Express Director of Operations and Richie Braden, Mountain Valley Express Account Executive will be in attendance.