Patriots Team Plane Ships 1.2 Million Face Masks From China To The US

The apparent shortage of N95 masks, the Wall Street Journal reports, has lead public officials to seek more and more ways to replenish the supply of masks for their frontline workers during the coronavirus pandemic.

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker and his staff had apparently found manufacturers in China able to provide masks, however, importing the masks during the pandemic was proving difficult.

New England Patriots' team plane recently landed at Boston Logan International Airport airport carrying 1.2 million N95 medical-grade face masks from China.

Robert Kraft, owner of the Patriots, himself paid half of the total cost, coming to around $2million, for the important masks, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Massachusetts' governor Charlie Baker tweeted his appreciation for the mask donation, and announced that the Massachusetts National Guard, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, and the Department of Public Health "will now work with our Command Center and local + health care partners to distribute these masks out to the heroes working on the front-lines."

Baker also described the moment the masks arrived as "an example of how collaboration and partnership can lead to real solutions during these challenging times."

While 1.2 million masks is a huge amount, the Kraft and his team had originally arranged to receive 1.7 million masks; however, the plane, due to it being a passenger plane, could only fit in 1.2 million. However, the plane's capacity was only one of many problems, as Kraft explained:

"I've never seen so much red tape in so many ways and obstacles that we had to overcome. In today's world, those of us who are fortunate to make a difference have a significant responsibility to do so with all the assets we have available to us," Kraft told the Wall Street Journal.

A second shipment will apparently contain the remaining masks.

Many people have taken to social media, to share their praise for those who worked tirelessly to make this amazing moment happen:

"Not a patriots fan but this was a class A move Robert Kraft... so, I thank you. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. In a time of great need you stepped up & got the job done."

"Thank you for being tenacious and finding creative ways to get around unbelievable obstacles. I truly appreciate the way you’ve stepped up to face this challenge and help us get through this."

300, 000 of the masks will apparently be donated to New York to help their frontline workers fight the coronavirus.

As the world continues to remain fearful of the future, gestures like this show that we are capable of beating this if we band together. Hopefully, more prominent public figures will follow this example and contribute to the fight against coronavirus and help protect those invaluable souls on the front-line.

h/t: Wall Street Journal reports.