TSA to receive 1.5 million expired N95 masks that had been sitting in a warehouse

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has almost 1.5 million expired N95 respirator masks sitting in a government warehouse in Indiana, and the Department of Homeland Security decided on Wednesday to send them to the Transportation Security Administration, three people with knowledge of the matter told The Washington Post on Thursday.

N95 masks are used by doctors and nurses treating patients infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus, and there are shortages at hospitals and medical facilities across the United States. Late last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxed its guidelines on using expired masks, saying they could be used during the coronavirus pandemic as long as they had been stored properly. The risk comes if the mask's elastic bands have deteriorated, and there isn't a proper seal against the face.

The masks are part of Customs and Border Protection's emergency supplies, and DHS officials decided to offer the masks to the TSA because they have been asking for protective equipment, three people with knowledge of the matter told the Post. The TSA said it will send the masks to airports as needed. One Trump administration official told the Post the masks were sent to TSA rather than hospitals or the Federal Emergency Management Agency because FEMA recently found masks to distribute.

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