INNOVATIVE locals have offered their expertise to Wangaratta medical facilities, producing 3D printed face shields for the city’s health care workers facing the COVID-19 threat.

Galen Catholic College student Ryan Falconer contacted his school’s eLearning and VEX coordinator, Maree Timms, over the holidays after reading an article about a group of doctors, academics, scientists and engineers from across Australia coming together to address a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) needed to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Ryan was keen to see whether Galen could also assist by making the face shields, so Ms Timms investigated the concept by contacting Dr Cathal O’Connell from Melbourne’s BioFab3D.