The New England Patriots are doing their part to join the fight against coronavirus, and they’re doing so in a big way.
The Patriots sent a team plane to China earlier this week to pick up more than 1 million N95 protective masks to help medical and emergency workers as the United States attempts to slow the spread of the coronavirus, according to The Wall Street Journal.
According to the report, the Kraft family paid roughly $2 million to help with the costs of the masks. Jonathan Kraft and Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker reportedly negotiated with the Chinese on how to collect the masks.
In a tweet Thursday thanking the Kraft family for its help, Baker also shared a photo of the plane being loaded in China.
No days off. Thanks to some serious teamwork, Massachusetts is set to receive over 1 million N95 masks for our front-line workers. Huge thanks to the Krafts and several dedicated partners for making this happen. pic.twitter.com/ieV6XMC5Ow
— Charlie Baker (@MassGovernor) April 2, 2020
According to the report, the plane was only able to be on the ground for three hours, and crew wasn’t allowed to get off the plane. The loading took 2 hours and 57 minutes, per the Journal report.
“I’ve never seen so much red tape in so many ways and obstacles that we had to overcome,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft told The Wall Street Journal. “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.”
The masks will be delivered back to Boston on Thursday.
