Harrison County, Ind., organizations hand out kits to make face masks for workers on the front lines of COVID-19 outbreak |

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Officials in southern Indiana are getting the community involved to help protect health care workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Harrison County Emergency Management Department and Parks Department gave out kits on Wednesday so people can make masks at home. Each kit came with directions for how to make the masks and send them back. Once the department receives the masks, the masks will be sanitized and given out to health care workers.

"I think it's important for the community to pull together," said Larry Shickles, superintendent of the Harrison County Parks Department. "The health department had a need; the question was how many masks were out there. You obviously want to keep the N95s on the medical workers, but you have a lot of folks who needed to have this protection, as well. What was clear was that the point was going to come that they couldn't get them, and so, while they're not necessarily the ideal thing, they are a substitution for nothing."

Drive-thru pickup of the kits is by appointment only. Organizers said they gave out enough kits on Wednesday for people to make about 1,800 masks.