Apple’s latest big rollout comes in the way of PPE for employees, and a Baltimore company is playing a role in protecting them against COVID-19.
According to Bloomberg, ClearMask is one of two types of masks that the iconic tech brand will soon distribute to employees on both the corporate and retail side. Apple’s engineering and industrial design teams also collaborated on an in-house face mask for employees, the Apple Face Mask, as an upgrade from cloth masks that were initially provided by the company.
Per Bloomberg, Apple worked with D.C.-based Gallaudet University to choose the transparent mask, and also tested the ClearMask in three stores.
ClearMask, which was founded in late 2017 by a team out of Johns Hopkins, developed a transparent face mask to make communication accessible for the deaf and hard of hearing in medical settings. The product received FDA clearance in the spring, as well as investment from Maryland’s TEDCO that helped to ramp production as the company has seen wide traction in the pandemic amid a skyrocketing demand for face masks.
I ordered a box for my parents who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing so they can hand them out to their Doctors and medical staff when they go to their appointments. Mom says they will be one time gift to the medical folks with encouragement to order for their offices.