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Florida inmates will make face masks for corrections officers

A clothing manufacturing contractor staffed by Florida inmates will move to making cloth masks using CDC templates.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Department of Corrections announced Saturday that some inmates at a clothing production facility will pivot to producing face masks.

The department said inmates with the Prison Rehabilitative Industries and Diversified Enterprises, Inc. (PRIDE) will use face mask templates provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Corrections officers and staff will be the first ones wearing these inmate-made masks. Then, the FDC said the masks will be given to prisons with "large at-risk inmate populations."

"It's critical we take all precautions necessary to minimize the potential risk to the inmate population and staff charged with their care and custody," FDC Secretary Mark Inch said in a release.

FDC staff have already been advised to wear personal face coverings while inside buildings and facilities to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The announcement comes as jails and prisons around the country become hot spots for coronavirus spread. 

RELATED: Prisoners are digging mass graves in New York City as pandemic deaths mount

RELATED: Over 100 inmates riot at Washington State Corrections Complex, police say

In many states, inmates have been moved to producing masks, hand sanitizer and other products for public use. But, since the novel coronavirus reached the U.S., inmates around the country have been calling for better health protection for themselves. 

In mid-March, 163 inmates were released from the Hillsborough County Jail as a precautionary step to fight viral spread. Sheriff Chad Chronister said those released were "low-level" and non-violent. A week later, the Jacksonville State Attorney's Office called for significant reductions in the jail population in three counties.

On April 1, the federal Bureau of Prisons announced it was locking all 146,000 of its inmates in their cells for two weeks to slow the spread of coronavirus. The move came after a Louisiana compound reported two inmates had died and nearly 20 others were hospitalized because of COVID-19.

The Bureau of Prisons has 121 other correctional facilities around the country.

On April 8, more than 100 inmates at a Washington prison "engaged in a demonstration" in the recreation yard. Police believe the "demonstration" was the result of six positive COVID-19 cases among inmates.

Back in Florida, 34 coronavirus cases have been reported among inmates at Blackwater River Correctional Facility, according to the Miami Herald. The facility is near Pensacola in the Panhandle and is privately-operated.

And, the newspaper said six staff members had tested positive.

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