PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The company that makes Major League Baseball uniforms has switched to producing masks and gowns in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Fanatics has suspended production on jerseys at its factory in Easton, Pennsylvania, and is instead using the polyester mesh fabric to make protective wear. The new gowns and masks will go to hospitals in Pennsylvania and nearby states. Fanatics hoped to produce nearly 15,000 masks and gowns a day. The company is making Level 1 masks, used for low-risk, nonsurgical procedures that are for single-use only.
Hockey equipment manufacturer Bauer has shifted from making visors for helmets to medical visors for those fighting the coronavirus pandemic. The company did not close its plants when hockey leagues put their seasons on hold. Instead, Bauer changed its production. A group of engineers in Quebec brainstormed the idea of producing medical shields to protect people on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19. By the middle of this week, Bauer had roughly 100,000 devices ready for distribution. The company said its facility in Liverpool, New York, made 1,300 face shields Thursday with a goal of producing 2,000 more Friday and 4,000 daily next week.