The federal government announced Friday it will provide nearly 100 million cloth face masks for passengers to use when traveling on planes, trains, and buses.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the federal government will send 86.8 million face masks to airports and send another 9.6 million face masks to 458 transit agencies and Amtrak for passenger use.
“This Administration is committed to protecting our people and reopening the economy; distributing these facial coverings will help boost public confidence as we begin to resume our normal lives,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao.
The DOT said it had been working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as well as with states, industries, and stakeholders to provide transportation passengers with face masks. The masks were secured by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and will be sent to the airport, transit agencies and Amtrak over the next few weeks via the U.S. Postal Services.
The masks are in addition to the more than 15 million masks provided to infrastructure workers in the transportation industries.
According to the DOT, however, the masks are meant to be supplemental and are not guaranteed to be available at all locations. Passengers are still responsible for providing their own masks, per guidelines issued by airlines, airports, transit agencies, and passenger rail authorities.