Florida Department of Corrections Banner, Secretary Mark S. Inch

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 11, 2020

Contact: FDC Communications
(850) 488-0420
 

FDC and PRIDE Begin Production of Cloth Face Coverings

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) and Prison Rehabilitative Industries and Diversified Enterprises, Inc. (PRIDE) are transitioning some clothing production activities to the production of cloth face coverings (masks), using templates provided by the CDC.

In public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, the use of cloth face coverings to slow the spread of COVID-19 was recently recommended. Due to already existing clothing manufacturing infrastructure, FDC and PRIDE are uniquely situated to respond quickly to the agency’s initial high demand for cloth face coverings.

FDC Secretary Mark Inch said, “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.”

Initially, face coverings produced by FDC and PRIDE will be issued to correctional officers, probation officers and staff in high-risk geographic areas of the state, then to institutions which have large at-risk inmate populations.

In the interim as cloth face coverings are being produced for issuance, FDC staff have been authorized to wear personal face coverings while inside facilities.

For more information on the steps FDC is taking to respond to COVID-19, please visit www.dc.state.fl.us/comm/covid-19.html.

Click here for latest Coronavirus updates

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As Florida's largest state agency, and the third largest state prison system in the country, FDC employs 24,000 members, incarcerates 80,000 inmates and supervises nearly 146,000 offenders in the community.

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