Across the country, Americans are stepping up to help fight the coronavirus in a variety of ways.
Border Patrol agent Ricardo Ruedas and his wife Alejandra have made and donated hundreds of homemade masks to workers who are deemed essential, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP.)
“We have family and friends that work in the local hospitals, and we coordinated with them to find out who was in need,” Ricardo said in a release from CBP. “We felt the necessity to help those who help others. I learned to sew out of necessity when I was younger, and my wife just recently taught herself from online videos.”
The couple said that they were inspired to start making masks after seeing similar stories. They said they make the masks on their time off and plan to continue to make them.
The masks the couple make have three layers designed to prevent water or bacteria from getting through.
As the virus has spread throughout the country, several companies have started producing face masks to help healthcare workers amid a shortage of personal protective equipment.
The latest data finds that there are more than 770,000 confirmed cases of the virus in the country and more than 40,000 deaths.