Italian cycling clothing manufacturer Santini has announced that it will shift its focus to manufacturing face masks in response to the Covid 19 coronavirus pandemic.

The company, which currently supplies clothing to Boels Dolmans, Trek Segafredo, and the UCI World Championships, hopes to begin production on Monday, March 23.

Santini is based in the town of Lallio, near Bergamo in northern Italy. As of Thursday night, 35,613 people in Italy had been confirmed infected with the coronavirus and 2,978 had died.

The company announced that it had already produced a prototype in collaboration with local textile manufacturer Sitip. The mask is currently being tested at Politecnico di Milano, where it is expected to be approved to begin production of 10,000 masks per day.

"From the beginning, we asked ourselves what we could do as entrepreneurs," Monica Santini, Santini's marketing manager, told Bergamo News (opens in new tab). 'Out of that need, we contacted another Bergamo company, Sitip, which supplies waterproof breathable material, to make a prototype. [The prototype is finished and now we are waiting for Politecnico di Milano to test it; starting Monday, March 23, we can put the mask into production."

The need for such equipment is becoming more pronounced in Italy amid the crisis and lack of supplies. This week, a doctor working near Piacenza died after contracting the coronavirus. Other medical staff have also tested positive for the coronavirus or are suffering health problems every day.

Paola Pedrini, the Bergamo regional secretary of the Italian Federation of Medical Practitioners, told Euronews (opens in new tab) that masks that should last half a day have been used for a week because of the shortage.

"We have already tested the machines and are ready to produce 10,000 masks a day. We have received many requests, but our priority will be to supply hospitals in and around Bergamo."