(Sacramento, CA) — California is set to provide safety equipment like masks and gloves to up to ten-thousand farmworkers as it reports at least 21 cases of bird flu. The situation underscores the state’s ongoing challenges with budget deficits.

Officials started distributing over two-million pieces of protective gear in late May, ahead of the first human case. Bird flu has been found on more than 270 dairy farms in central California, as well as in water samples from Los Angeles County and in commercial turkeys in Sacramento County.

California is using COVID-19 lessons to manage bird flu by coordinating with health officials and tracking diseases in wastewater. It’s also aiming to keep enough emergency supplies ready for any public health crisis without overspending the state budget.