Cheerful face masks are helping to prevent the spread of COVID-19 thanks to a small company in Bulgaria's capital, Sofia. 

The spread of COVID-19 in the country is leading to panic buying and one of the products now in short supply, not only in Bulgaria but also globally, is face masks. 

Such bulk buying is leading to shortages in the supply of face masks for police, medical staff and other emergency services.

But the Angel Baby company that makes sleeping bags and clothes for babies is switching its focus. The small enterprise has paused production for a week to solely make as many as 3,000 masks, which will be sent around the country to hospitals and police stations.

The masks are printed with owls, dinosaurs, llamas and monkeys. 

"The idea came to us spontaneously as we got calls from friends asking us to sew them masks," co-owner Desislava Yankova said to AFP. 

"We stopped our usual production of baby sleeping bags for a week and we hope to be able to make about 3,000 masks to send to hospitals and police stations around the country," she added.

Bulgaria currently has 62 confirmed infections so far and two deaths from the virus. 

Angel Baby's previous campaigns include the "Sleeping bag on a mission." For every baby sleeping bag sold, it donated one to a maternity ward, with more than 6,000 bags given away.

The company said it is also giving away the masks for free. However, users are being warned that the handmade masks have not been medically certified, so they must be washed daily and ironed at high temperatures.

Angel Baby also said the the masks that are being given to police and doctors are not intended to be used by those in direct contact with the novel coronavirus but are more so for those on the frontline who deal with large numbers of people on a daily basis.