A medical worker wearing a protective mask and suit treats patients suffering from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in an intensive care unit at the Oglio Po hospital in Cremona, Italy, March 19, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Flavio Lo Scalzo.

Kohelet Yeshiva in Philadelphia is using its lab to 3D-print surgical face shields for health care workers who are on the front lines battling the coronavirus.

The school launched the “COVID-19 Face Shield Project” to create special face shields for medical professionals in Pennsylvania’s local Lower Merion Township amid an ongoing shortage of medical gear and supplies for healthcare workers. The yeshiva is raising money to help further the project and 100 percent of the proceeds go toward producing as many face shields as possible.

There are currently no students inside Kohelet Yeshiva due to government-mandated lockdowns, but school board member Lori Salkin told the local radio station KYW that the printing of the shields was continuing.

“We said, you know what, we have this incredible, state-of-the-art Fab Lab sitting here, we better put it to good use,” she said.

The shields have already been approved by Pennsylvania’s Lankenau Medical Center. Kohelet Yeshiva makes about two dozen shields a day for Lankenau, but the school wants to increase that number.

Salkin explained, “We are hoping to double our production by changing the way we are creating the masks using laser cutters rather than 3D printers. We should be able to produce the major parts significantly quicker so we can produce as many as possible to help out.”

She also hopes to deliver the face shields to additional hospitals in the future.