Texas Governor Greg Abbott is putting a National Guard division to work manufacturing personal protective equipment for healthcare workers.

At a news briefing Wednesday, April 8, Abbott announced that the Texas National Guard 36th Infantry Division will work along staff at Prestige Ameritech's headquarters near Fort Worth. The 220,000 square foot facility will operate 24 hours per day, and is expected to produce 2 million masks per week.

Prestige Ameritech is the nation's largest domestic surgical mask manufacturer, and also designs and manufactures disposable medical devices and the machines that produce them. They'll be increasing production thanks to this new partnership with the Texas Military Department.

"This new partnership between TMD and Prestige Ameritech is an important component of our commitment to ensuring our health care workers have the supplies they need to do their important work," Abbott said. " The Lone Star State remains unwavering in our support for our frontline health care workers as we continue to respond to COVID-19."

You can watch the news briefing below. Gov. Abbott's comments concerning the partnership between the TMD and Prestige Ameritch begin at the 14:10 mark.

Gov. Abbott activated the Texas National Guard on March 17 to assist with the state's response to COVID-19. They've been assisting with a number of tasks including setting up makeshift hospitals and distributing protective equipment.

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