Did you get those five reusable face masks through the United States Postal Service (USPS) back in April? You didn’t? Well, that was the USPS plan back then, according to Tony Romm, Jacob Bogage, and Lena H. Sun reporting for the Washington Post.
That’s based on a review of nearly 10,000 pages of federal emails, legal memos, presentations and other documents that watchdog group American Oversight had requested via the Freedom of Information Act. Included in the documents was a draft news release from the USPS about plans to distribute 650 million masks around the country. This would have amounted to around five face coverings per every American household. Not a bad plan given the fact that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now calls on Americans to wear masks to prevent Covid-19 spread.
A news release meant that the plan was probably at its advanced stages. After all, you don’t tend to put together a press release until after you’re fairly sure something will happen. Otherwise, it would be a premature communication. Or a premature declaration. It would be a bit like preparing wedding announcements before even beginning to date someone. Or preparing buns when there are no hot dogs.
So why didn’t you get the masks? Because the plan never was fully implemented. Apparently the White House said something to the effect of “oh no you won’t” to the USPS. The Washington Post article quoted an administration official as saying, “There was concern from some in the White House Domestic Policy Council and the office of the vice president that households receiving masks might create concern or panic.” A concern about creating a concern? Now who would want to raise concern about a pandemic caused by a novel Covid-19 coronavirus that has now resulted over 198,000 deaths?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2020/09/18/usps-covid-19-coronavirus-plan-to-send-every-household-face-masks-how-the-white-house-stopped-it/#2e12b52c6b2a
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