Fabric and rubber bands have been sent to 346 seamstresses in 37 prefectures throughout Greece for the production of 40,000 masks as part of an initiative financed and launched online by artist Marios Eleftheriadis and tailor Konstantinos Tektonidis.

The aim of the initiative is to produce fabric masks to be given to the Hellenic Red Cross for distribution where needed.

Most of the material has been donated by wholesalers and others, while the rest was purchased. The masks are 100 percent cotton, washable and reusable.

“The response has been great,” Eleftheriadis told Kathimerini, adding that the seamstresses have fully embraced the initiative,

The masks cannot replace the special ones used by medical and nursing staff, but they can meet needs behind the front line.

The seamstresses had been asked to deliver the masks by April 10, but this date will be extended due to postal delays.

This article was first published in ekathimerini.com