New York, Mar 27 (IANS): The jerseys for the new season of Major League Baseball (MLB) will be used for making protective masks and gowns for medical professionals who are at the forefront of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Fanatics, the company that manufactures the Nike uniforms for MLB, has temporarily converted its factory to produce the medical attires, according to The New York Times.

The masks are reportedly made from the same fabric used for the jerseys and the first prototypes feature the pinstripes that feature on the uniforms of the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies.

"I really hope it's just the first step in baseball contributing to the country getting back on the road to normalcy," MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is quoted as saying by NYT.

"I just love the symbolism of patterns that are associated with baseball being used by the people who are carrying a huge burden for all of us."

"We've got tremendous amounts of fabric, which is exactly what the players wear," said Michael Rubin, the founder and executive chairman of Fanatics. "We're just taking it and making the masks and gowns that can be used by the people who are working to save lives every day."

USA has become the epicentre of the pandemic spread. The number of infections has crossed 82,000, thus putting it above the numbers in Italy and China.