by Donald Wood
Last updated: 2:08 PM ET, Mon June 15, 2020
The United States Government announced plans to send nearly 100 million cloth facial coverings to the aviation, transit and passenger rail transportation industries for passenger use.
According to U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao, an estimated 86.8 million coverings will be distributed to airports around the country, while another 9.6 million will be distributed to 458 transit agencies and Amtrak.
The cloth facial coverings secured by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will be sent over the coming weeks through the U.S. Postal Service as part of a collaborative effort with The U.S. Department of Transportation and Department of Homeland Security.
"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," Chao said in a statement.
The State Department already sent around 15 million cloth facial coverings to critical infrastructure workers in the transportation sector, but the new masks are intended to be supplemental, as passengers are still responsible for having their own facial coverings.
The fear of a second wave of coronavirus infections has travelers concerned, as a recent survey showed that 45 percent of Americans are likely to purchase travel insurance for future trips in the wake of the viral pandemic.
In Alaska, the state is working hard to mitigate the threat of a spike in confirmed coronavirus cases by requiring all arriving travelers provide a negative test if they want to bypass the state's mandatory 14-day quarantine process.
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