Filipino teen prints face shields for health workers

Filipino teen prints face shields for health workers

Marcus Chu is a 16-year-old student in Manila, where school classes have been suspended amid a citywide lockdown.

But Marcus is putting his free time to good use, making face shields for frontline doctors with his 3D printer at home.

Gloria Tso has more.

This Filipino teenager is putting his Christmas gift to good use.

Meet Marcus Chu, a 16-year-old student in Manila.

The capital city is currently under lockdown and school classes are suspended.

But Marcus hasn't been wasting his free time.

He has been making dozens of face shields with his 3D printer at home to help doctors on the frontlines.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) 16-YEAR-OLD FILIPINO STUDENT, MARCUS CHU, SAYING: "On the internet I've seen a lot of posts about the doctors and the people in the frontline who are suffering from all these tiring works.

/ I feel like it's my opportunity to finally help in a very serious situation even if it's in just a little way." Many countries, including the Philippines, are scrambling to get enough of this protective medical equipment.

The 10th-grader first found an open-source design of the face shield on the internet, but later tweaked it.

Chu said the new design uses less material and can be printed faster.

His family has donated the face shields to four hospitals in Manila and plans to make more for those in need.