Inmates at the Department of Corrections in Connecticut manufactured 3,300 masks for health care workers, officials say.

Officials with the Department of Corrections Correctional Enterprises of Connecticut say they have developed a face mask prototype.

They say five shops where inmates work inside correctional facilities have already been converted to produce the masks.

Officials say on Monday inmates began to produce the masks and as of Thursday, they have 3,300.

Officials say it is estimated that initially a combined total of 1,200 to 1,400 face masks could be produced daily.

However, officials say the masks produced by inmates are intended for use in emergency situations when no other

option is available.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, health care workers should use N95 respirators, but when they are no longer available, and surgical masks are not available, as a last resort, it may be necessary for health care providers to use masks that have never been evaluated or approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.