A large shipment of personal protective equipment brought over to the United States from the New England Patriots’ team airplane is on the next leg of its journey - with state police from across the region escorting the package.

In the most recent update on the status of hundreds of thousands of face masks transported to the U.S. via the Patriots plane, the heavy cargo load has stopped in Connecticut while en route to New York. The PPE is much needed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, officials have said.

“A shipment of masks is on its way to NYC health care personnel treating Coronavirus victims,” Massachusetts State Police tweeted. “MSP cruisers will escort that shipment the entire route from Gillette Stadium to NY.”

A shipment of 300,000 face masks bound for New York City is currently in Connecticut, where state police from across New England are escorting the large cargo load. The New England Patriots' team air plane shipped the pieces of personal protective equipment over from China this week. (Massachusetts State Police)

Early Wednesday morning, the football team’s airplane was in Shenzen, China. Gov. Charlie Baker, Patriots Owner Robert Kraft and the Chinese government had arranged it so the Boeing 767 would pick up 1.7 million N95 face masks, The Wall Street Journal first reported.

The vehicle could not fit 500,000 of the masks, so another shipment will need to be made, according to the newspaper’s report.

The plane landed at Boston Logan International Airport on Thursday night, the governor said.

“Tonight’s arrival of a major shipment of N95 masks on the @Patriots’ plane was a significant step in our work to get front-line workers the equipment they need,” Baker tweeted. “And [it’s] an example of how collaboration and partnership can lead to real solutions during these challenging times.”

Tonight's arrival of a major shipment of N95 masks on the @Patriots' plane was a significant step in our work to get front-line workers the equipment they need.



And its an example of how collaboration and partnership can lead to real solutions during these challenging times. pic.twitter.com/THwofdrTlt — Charlie Baker (@MassGovernor) April 3, 2020

The cargo, secured in a box truck with the Patriots logo on it, has already traveled through Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, with state police from each of the states escorting the package.

Its end destination is New York City, considered right now to be the epicenter of the COVID-19 public health crisis in the United States. In the city alone, 51,809 cases and 1,562 deaths due to the illness have been reported, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The shipment’s arrival in the U.S. comes as states, including Massachusetts, face a shortage of masks amidst the outbreak of the viral respiratory infection.

Face masks are crucial for doctors and nurses on the frontlines of the pandemic in order to prevent transmission of the disease during treatment of coronavirus patients. Infection is spread through droplets from a person’s mouth.

Several individuals and businesses, including the Home Depot, have given mass amounts of face masks to medical personnel or made makeshift versions of the piece of personal protective equipment to be donated to hospitals.

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