United and Delta Airlines will offer free flights to health care workers traveling to New Jersey to treat coronavirus patients, Gov. Phil Murphy (D) announced Tuesday.

The airlines will transport volunteers who have previously been vetted to New Jersey’s Newark Airport from anywhere in the country, Murphy’s office said in a statement.

The first such volunteers arrived in the Garden State from Atlanta on Tuesday morning, with another group due to arrive from Colorado on Wednesday, the governor's office also noted.

ADVERTISEMENT

“I’d like to personally thank United and Delta Airlines for stepping up to help New Jersey in this time of need,” Murphy said in a statement. “We are in urgent need of volunteers and programs like this will allow us to draw help not just from the great people of New Jersey, but from the rest of the country as well.”

NEW: @united and @Delta are offering FREE round-trip flights to health care workers coming to New Jersey to assist in our battle against #COVID19.



Thank you United and Delta for helping transport the vital personnel we need. This will save lives.https://t.co/I2SH63JlSU pic.twitter.com/SOfTkrKsqk — Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) April 21, 2020

“We are witnessing the heroic efforts of our medical professionals around the world as they combat COVID-19, and we have deep gratitude for their selfless sacrifice,” Bill Lentsch, Delta’s chief customer experience officer, said in a statement. “Air travel plays a significant role in making connections in both good and challenging times, and our hope is that offering free travel gives more of these professionals the ability to help in critical areas of the US."

New Jersey has seen 85,301 confirmed cases of the virus as of Tuesday and 4,202 deaths. A bipartisan group of 36 New York and New Jersey legislators last week called for increased federal aid to states hit hardest by the pandemic in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiAs families deal with coronavirus, new federal dollars should follow the student Sunday shows - Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death dominates Hypocrisy rules on both sides over replacing Justice Ginsburg MORE (D-Calif.).

“The country is in the midst of a once a century public health crisis and New York and New Jersey are at the epicenter of the outbreak,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter. “Our approach provides resources in a fair manner that properly accounts for not only population, but also the number of positive COVID-19 cases and the impact of the virus on a government’s revenues and bottom line.”