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High school students use 3D printer to help relieve mask discomfort for healthcare workers during coronavirus

Gardiner Area High School students are making plastic clips to relieve pressure by the elastic on healthcare workers' masks worn during coronavirus pandemic

GARDINER, Maine — Editor’s note: You are starting to hear the term ‘flattening the curve’ as a way to stem the tide of coronavirus cases. The above video explains what that means. 

Healthcare workers are wearing face masks for many hours a day due to the coronavirus, COVID-19, and sometimes the masks can become uncomfortable. 

It's why siblings Lorelei and Calvin Mason wanted to help, by using their own 3D printer.

"I think it's great someone our age us able to help people," said Lorelei

The two attend Gardiner Area High School and said they got the idea after a family friend told them the masks were irritating their ears.

"I got on some software and starting modeling some clips," said Lorelei.

They said it took a lot of trial and error, but they finally made the perfect clips.

"It goes right on the back of their heads and they just bring the bands of the masks around and hook it on these little clips on the side," said Lorelei.

So far the siblings have made more than 100 and are donating them to nursing homes and long-term care facilities.

They said they are ecstatic to know they are helping those who are helping us.

"It's cool that we're doing this because not a lot of people are able to do stuff like this so when this is all over, we can say yeah we helped them we kind of get this solved with keeping the medical workers comfortable," said Calvin.

The two said they will continue to make them for as long as healthcare workers need them.

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At NEWS CENTER Maine, we're focusing our news coverage on the facts and not the fear around the illness. To see our full coverage, visit our coronavirus section, here: /coronavirus

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