Help came to the COVID-19 ravaged Massachusetts in the form of over a million N95 masks.
The messenger was China. The wings were courtesy of owner Robert Kraft and the New England Patriots.
The Patriots’ wide-bodied team plane full of much-needed protective gear for health care workers arrived Thursday at Logan International Airport in Boston.
Workers in masks and full-body suits in Shenzhen, China quickly loaded boxes onto the plane, as it was only cleared to be on the ground for three hours for health safety reasons.
The state of Massachusetts had to get creative, Gov. Charlie Baker said, after a shipment of more masks were confiscated in the port of New York. During the process to order personal protective equipment, the state found itself being outbid by the federal government and other countries.
Baker worked with the Chinese Consul General and ambassador in New York on visa and quarantine requirements. No member of the flight crew left the aircraft. After loading and refueling, the plane left China to return to Massachusetts.
New England fans — we know there’s a number here in Osceola County — can make a donation to the Patriots Foundation to go toward the purchase of protective equipment for healthcare workers. Click here to make a donation.