With Coronavirus cases spreading rapidly around the world, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is devoting resources to produce face masks for first responders. Today, the automaker announced a plan to manufacture one million face masks per month. They will be donated to EMTs, police officers, firefighters, other first responders, health care clinics, and hospitals in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

The automaker is presently installing manufacturing capability to create the masks, but the company's press release doesn't mention specific locations. A specific timeframe for manufacturing and delivery of the masks also wasn't mentioned, other than to say it should commence in the coming weeks. Though the announcement highlights North America for this initiative, FCA calls this the first action of a multifaceted global program to help combat COVID-19.

"Protecting our first responders and health care workers has never been more important," said FCA CEO Mike Manley. "In addition to the support we are giving to increase the production of ventilators, we canvassed our contacts across the healthcare industry and it was very clear that there is an urgent and critical need for face masks. We've marshaled the resources of the FCA Group to focus immediately on installing production capacity for making masks and supporting those most in need on the front line of this pandemic."

Once face mask production is underway, distribution will commence first with critical areas an North America as determined through coordination with city, regional, and national authorities. FCA says initial distribution will happen in North America, but it's unclear if face masks are part of the global plan. Further details on FCA's effort are said to be coming soon.

According to the March 23 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 33,404 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States with 400 deaths. 32,416 cases are still under investigation.