SASKATOON -- Saskatoon’s Open Door Society wants to distribute 10,000 masks to other community organizations the city.

The society is looking for donors and has already amassed local sponsors and partners including Willows Dental Clinic and the University of Saskatchewan College of Dentistry.

Anyone looking to donate to the program is asked to contact them.

Health Canada says wearing a non-medical mask is a step people can take to protect others, though it may not block virus particles transmitted by coughing and sneezing.

“Wearing a non-medical mask in the community has not been proven to protect the person wearing it and it is not a substitute to physical distancing and hand-washing,” Health Canada says.