Patriots' Plane Transports 1.2M N95 Masks from China for COVID-19 Relief

The New England Patriots' team plane has been used to transport over 1 million protective masks for health care workers in Massachusetts during the coronavirus pandemic.

Andrew Beaton of the Wall Street Journal first reported the plane departed Shenzhen, China, for Logan International Airport in Boston early Thursday morning carrying 1.2 million N95 masks. Ken MacLeod of WBZ-TV tweeted out video Thursday of the plane being unloaded:

"It is an honor for our family to be a part of this humanitarian mission. ... It's nice to care for those who provide such compassionate care for us," Patriots owner Robert Kraft said in a statement, per Mark Maske of Washington Post.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported Kraft also bought 300,000 masks with his own money to give to the Javits Center in New York on Friday.

Kraft and Gov. Charlie Baker, who negotiated the deal for the masks, will reportedly greet the plane when it lands, and the masks will then be transported by the National Guard to a stockpile.

Baker tweeted a photo of the plane getting loaded up with equipment:

According to Beaton, Baker has attempted to acquire masks in recent weeks only to be outbid by the federal government and other countries.

Per Nick Miroff of the Washington Post, a lack of protective masks is an issue in many cities and states in the U.S. amid the pandemic. As part of a recent survey, 90 percent of American mayors who responded said their cities lacked sufficient face masks and other protective equipment for first responders and emergency and medical personnel.

According to CNN as of Thursday morning, there are currently nearly 940,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, resulting in over 47,000 deaths. The United States has the most confirmed cases of any country, with over 216,000, which have led to 5,100 deaths.

On Wednesday, Kraft donated more than $100,000 in goods from the team's Gillette Stadium to local food pantries and homeless shelters.