A group of San Diego college students and staff are showing that lending a helping hand during the coronavirus pandemic knows no borders.
The Point Loma Nazarene University team is using on-campus 3D printers to make face shields for health care workers working with COVID-19 patients at Tijuana General Hospital in Mexico.
The face shield design file for 3D printers has been shared all around the world. Companies and organizations are utilizing their 3D printers to make life-saving equipment for their health care workers.
“We’ve gotten some amazing emails,” said Maria Zack, PLNU Chair of Mathematics, Engineering and Physics. “The most incredible message we got was a message of thanks that said they had been able to hand out protective equipment to everybody, including the cleaning staff who had all been working in this environment with very limited protection.”
Members of the group told NBC 7 there is a stark difference between Tijuana and San Diego when it comes to acquiring personal protection equipment, saying it’s “much, much worse in Tijuana.”
PLNU has printed more than 300 face shields in just over a week.
Organizers say they plan on printing face shields for as long as their Tijuana neighbors need them.
