Bacardi Rum is a staple in the party environment but the rum company is doing its part to combat Coronavirus as people practice social distancing. Miami Herald reports that Bacardi Rum’s plant in Puerto Rico has turned its production line into an ethanol producer to . At this point, they’re committed to using Bacardi alcohol in order to produce 1.7M 10 oz. bottles to provide to essential workers out there such as police, nurses, and others who are working the frontline of the Coronavirus battle.

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The company was founded in 1936. The vice president of manufacturing in Latin America and the Caribbean, Jose Class, said this is possibly the first time Bacardi has changed their line of production since its Puerto Rican branch launch. Class revealed that they probably didn’t even have anything like this during WWII. This new line of production began on March 17th and they’ve reassured fans of their alcoholic products that this won’t affect the production of rum. 

“We have ways to fight this. Just the simple act of washing your hands and being careful about your social interactions helps,” he said. ”We need to overcome this as soon as possible so we can start celebrating again.”

Bacardi Bottling Corporation in Jacksonville, FL has also committed to using itsim resources to mass-producing bottles of hand sanitizer. This week, they’ll produce 120K units of hand sanitizer.