The New England Patriots from the NFL have helped the state of Massachusetts fight the coronavirus.

According to the Wall Street Journal, 1.2 million protective masks were transported from the Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen to the USA on the Patriots’ team plane. Charlie Baker, the governor of Massachusetts, had previously contacted team owner Robert Kraft and asked for help.

According to the newspaper, Kraft’s family had paid half of the cost of the action, around two million dollars, themselves. “In today’s world, those who can make a difference have an essential responsibility to do so with all available means,” Kraft said.

300,000 masks alone are to be delivered to the state of New York alone, which is primarily affected with over 83,000 corona cases. Massachusetts meanwhile has more than 7700 infected persons.

Special permit for Patriots machine

On Thursday the masks were expected at Boston Logan International Airport. Kraft’s plane is said to have stayed on Chinese soil for only three hours, and the crew was not allowed to leave the plane due to quarantine regulations.

Normally, arriving passengers in China are first put into 14-day isolation. According to the Journal, Kraft had been granted an exemption to prevent this.