Raffensperger Taps Georgia Suppliers for Masks, Sanitizer
(Atlanta) – Georgia companies are supplying the face masks and hand sanitizer that will protect voters and poll workers during early voting and on Election Day, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced Wednesday.
“We are doing everything in our power to ensure voters, poll workers and election officials stay safe while participating in this election during a pandemic,” he said. “I am proud to get these critical masks and sanitizer from Georgia companies.”
Raffensperger took decisive action to protect people while ensuring voting is available to everyone and that the results are accurate and fair. He suspended voting in the Presidential Preference Primary, combined it with the General Primary, delayed it as long as possible, urged the use of absentee voting, helped recruit poll workers and found personal protective supplies, as well as making grants to counties buying their own supplies.
Early voting on the combined election began Monday and continues through June 5. More than 1.3 million absentee ballots have been sent to voters requesting them, with over 360,000 already cast and received by individual counties, the largest use of absentee voting in any modern Georgia election.
Raffensperger purchased 35,000 face masks for distribution among the 159 counties across Georgia. The non-surgical masks are made by Lawrenceville-based Marena Group with a design authorized on an emergency basis by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. They contain an FDA-approved Silvadur™ antibacterial protection to guard the user’s face, nose and mouth from their environment.
Marena masks are reusable, durable, and machine-washable up to 50 times without losing effectiveness, even at high temperatures. They are made with skin-friendly TriFlex™ fabric with 3D stretch for optimal comfort.
A Georgia company also supplied 30,000 8-ounce bottles of hand sanitizer for use in county polling places. Pretoria Fields Collective is a 3-year-old company based in Albany and run by a physician, two compounding pharmacists, a chemist and an agronomist.
When the pandemic forced bars and restaurants to close, the company looked for ways to serve first responders and keep their employees on the job by shifting the production of their craft brewery to making hand sanitizer following FDA guidelines. The company used its brewing fermenters to mix distilled ethanol with glycerin, hydrogen peroxide and distilled water to make a topical hand sanitizing solution. The formulation was validated by tests conducted by a lab in Camilla.
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About Marena:
The Marena Group LLC is a U.S. Class I medical device manufacturer with over 25 years of experience in the healthcare sector. Its products are sold in 60 countries globally. Marena's mission is to help patients around the world recover comfortably and with confidence. Since 1994, Marena has been dedicated to advancing the effective use of medical-grade compression through research, innovation, design and manufacturing of garments for post-surgical recovery and long-term wellness benefits.
Its patented TriFlex™ fabric is engineered for invasive, minimal and non-invasive procedures. It is ISO: 9001, ISO 13485:2016 and GMP certified. The Marena Face Mask is authorized for sale under an FDA Emergency Use Authorization as a Non-Surgical Face Mask (Class I medical device) for the general public and/or by Health Care Professionals in a healthcare setting, as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). This product is non-sterile and has not been tested to N95 or other standards for particulate filtration, liquid barrier protection, resistance to high-intensity heat source/ flammable gas, or infection prevention. It is not intended to be used as a respirator or in such a clinical setting where the risk level of infection through fluids or inhalation exposure is high. This mask has not been tested for effectiveness against the COVID-19 virus. Each mask is intended for use by one person only and must not be shared. See instructions for use and cleaning on Marena.com .
For more information, contact:
Jackie Zupsic at (805) 698-5060 or [email protected]
About Pretoria Fields Collective:
Albany-based Pretoria Fields Collective brews a variety of craft beers marketed throughout Georgia and Alabama and distributed by United Distributors. The products have earned the Georgia Grown designation from the Georgia Department of Agriculture. It also produces hand sanitizer with a recipe approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as well as KN95 face masks, both primarily for first responders, dentists and marketed directly or through independent Georgia pharmacists.
For more information, contact:
Albert Etheridge
229-518-6165
[email protected]
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