PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker is giving a shout-out to the New England Patriots for helping the state secure more than 1 million N95 masks.
“No days off,” Baker tweeted Thursday morning. “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.”
And while Massachusetts was set to get those masks, Rhode Island and other New England states could see a helpful infusion of medical supplies in the future thanks to continuing efforts of the Patriots Foundation.
“We set up a site for donations for the purchase of additional medical supplies in the future and will use those funds to allocate resources in New England,” Stacey James, vice president of media relations for the Patriots, said in an email.
In a story that’s billed on its site as an exclusive, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Patriots team plane, a Boeing 767, departed from Shenzhen, China, at 3:38 a.m. Wednesday with 1.2 million N95 masks.
The plane was scheduled to land at Boston’s Logan Airport Thursday afternoon, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Baker was able to reach a deal for the masks two weeks ago, but dealing with a maze of restrictions, he had no way to get them to the United States, so he turned to Patriots President Jonathan Kraft, described as a longtime friend of Baker, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The plane actually took off without permission to land in China and waited in Alaska for the green light, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The plane’s crew was not allowed to get off the plane after it landed in China, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The Patriots issued the following statement from team owner Robert Kraft: “It is an honor for our family to be a part of this humanitarian mission. We knew that purchasing greatly needed N95 masks and providing the Patriots plane to expedite their delivery to local hospitals would immediately help protect our courageous health care professionals.
“Multiple organizations across the public and private sectors, all of which were in lockstep with Governor Charlie Baker’s visionary leadership, worked together to execute this mission with the purpose of helping save lives,” Kraft said.
“I truly hope that in doing so, we can in some way inspire others to find creative ways to give more in support of our doctors, nurses and first responders,” Kraft said. “It’s nice to care for those who provide such compassionate care for us.”
According to the Patriots, Robert and Jonathan Kraft “partnered” with Baker and the state of Massachusetts to buy 1.4 million N95 masks to replenish the inventory at Massachusetts hospitals.
In addition, Robert Kraft bought 300,000 masks to provide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo in New York, the Patriots said. Those masks will be transported from Boston to New York on Friday.
Patriots running back James White was asked about the Patriots’ delivery effort Thursday during a conference call.
“It’s awesome. That’s huge at this point and time. You have doctors, nurses — all those people on the front line taking care of sick people each and every day. It’s kind of a crazy situation right now,” White said. “People that have the influence to help others, I think it’s an important time for us to try as help as many people as possible. People are sick. There are people getting laid off, don’t know if a check is coming or when they’ll get a check or when their next meal is coming. It’s a difficult time.”
The Wall Street Journal reported that the entire order could not fit on the plane. The Patriots say the remaining 500,000 are scheduled to arrive as early as next week.
As that was unfolding, the Patriots Wednesday afternoon tweeted a message from coach Bill Belichick, who thanked the “heroic” medical professionals who’ve been treating people during the pandemic. He also encouraged people to continue social distancing and sheltering in place.
“We’re all in this together,” he said.
The Patriots also announced that all donations to the Patriots Foundation for the month of April will be used to buy additional personal protective equipment and other medical supplies.