MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — In an effort to provide personal protection for first responders and other workers facing exposure to COVID-19, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office is making masks in its Uniform Production Unit.
This facility is located at the Manatee County Jail and staffed with sewing instructors, deputies and inmates. The goal is to produce 100 masks a day.
"We're making a cotton fabric mask from material we have that we use for inmate sheets,” Amy Boldin said.
Boldin is a sergeant in the Corrections Bureau for the sheriff's office.
“It’s an appropriate fabric to use. We’re also using a filter process of the backing that we use to embroider our shirts with,” Boldin said.
“We looked at the material we had in our uniform production shop and decided why not make masks for first responders and other workers on the frontlines," Sheriff Rick Wells said.
They have about 600 masks that they will give to the emergency operations center, which will be used by paramedics and other first responders. As a part of their production, they’re also donating some of the masks to grocery stores.
Deputies have already delivered 100 masks to Winn Dixie and Detwiler’s Farm Market in Palmetto.
“Even while taking precautions, we know many of those workers are coming face to face with people all day long, so we wanted to share some of our extra masks with them,” Wells said.
Both grocery stores were very thankful to be able to protect all their employees who are constantly exposed as they report to work on a daily basis.
The sheriff’s office says they will continue production as long as they have materials to use.
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