Humanity Amidst COVID-19: Kansas Farmer Mails N-95 Mask To New York Governor

Stories of common citizens stepping in to help the authorities in their own small way to fight the COVID-19 battle, keep flowing in from all parts of the world.

A retired farmer from Northeast Kansas mailed an N-95 mask to the New York Governor Andrew Cuomo urging him to give it to a doctor or nurse on the frontline. The farmer, Dennis, had five unused masks from his farming days. He thought that the N 95 masks were of the sort which would be in high demand for medical professionals during the COVID-19 crisis in the United States.

The Kansas farmer decided to keep four of these masks for his family since both he and his wife are among the elderly. Both are in their 70s and moreover, his wife Sharon, has one lung and other health conditions.

Dennis decided to mail the fifth N-95 mask to the Governor of New York. The New York governor was urged by the Kansas farmer to give the mask to a nurse or doctor in the state. Dennis pointed out that he had a solitary N-95 mask left over from his farming days and that it had never been used.

At his daily media briefing on the COVID-19 situation, the New York Governor Andrew Cuomo read out the handwritten letter he received from the Kansas farmer. In the letter Dennis said that he and his wife wanted the mask to reach a doctor or nurse working on the front lines in fighting the COVID-19 crisis. Cuomo described the letter as a heart-warming example of humanity in a time of grave crisis. The New York Governor characterised the gesture by the Kansas farmer as a selfless one.

Cuomo's office posted an image of the handwritten letter written by Dennis.

The United States has turned into the global epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic with more than 55,000 deaths so far. New York continues to be the worst affected state in the US and has recorded more than 16,000 COVID-19 deaths over the past six weeks or so.