Tech firm donates 12,000 surgical masks to local first responders, medical workers

TAMPA — Hillsborough County’s Office of Emergency Management and Public Utilities Department received 12,000 surgical-quality masks from NexTraq, an Atlanta-based Michelin Group company that specializes in GPS tracking technology.

The masks will be distributed to first responders, medical personnel and other essential workers who need protection from exposure to the coronavirus. 

NexTraq, according to a press release, provides GPS fleet tracking and mobile workforce management solutions to various Hillsborough County departments and service providers. The Michelin Group is donating 700,000 masks to hospitals, medical facilities and essential businesses around the world to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"Protecting these government employees, their families and the people they need to interact with on a daily basis as they perform their critical work is of paramount importance,” states Oliver Brauen, president and CEO of NexTraq, in the release.