A shop in the western province of Herat has started producing masks from silk, as well as other materials, to fight the outbreak of COVID-19, said the owner on Wednesday.

Reka Sadat, owner of the shop, said that he has switched from making clothes to making masks since the spread of the coronavirus, adding that the "silk-made masks are superior to other fabrics."

“We decided to produce masks, and we changed from clothes production to mask production. We are producing two types of masks. One of them is made of yarn, which is for us. Another of them is made from silk, which is for the bazaar,” said Sadat.

The shop owner said they have found markets for silk masks, and have recruited more than 40 workers.

“We have produced 3,000 masks and we send them to the customers. We have sent some pictures of the masks to customers, they were very happy with that,” said Sadat.

Along with the men in the workshop, some women have also been working from their homes.

“For the sake of the coronavirus we produce silk-made masks of high quality to protect our people from the virus,” said Mohammad Arif, a tailor.

“These silk pieces are of high quality. We produce the masks and they are cheap too,” said Mir Yaro, another tailor.

The tailor says the masks are beneficial to the skin, and they are washable.