SALT LAKE CITY — A massive Boeing Dreamlifter landed at Salt Lake City International Airport, dwarfing other plans and vehicles around it.
As Governor Gary Herbert, state schools superintendent Sydnee Dickson and other officials watched, it taxied to a stop by a UPS cargo facility. Then crews started unloading pallet after pallet of face coverings.
"This very generous donation of masks will go a long way to keeping our students safe and allowing them to learn," said Theresa Mbaku of the Salt Lake City School District.
The child-size face masks are part of a donation to help Utah schools when they re-open in the fall. The Utah State Board of Education recently adopted a plan to start re-opening schools in the fall. Each local school district must present a safety plan by the end of this month. The face coverings are considered a big part of that.
"If we all do our part, we can hopefully slow the spread of the virus," said Dickson. "It’s a community effort to get schools open. We all want our kids back but are we willing to do what it takes to get them there?"