Someone was doing routine work at the Washington National Cathedral — and found boxes and boxes of medical masks that are badly needed during the coronavirus outbreak.
The cathedral donated 5,000 respirator masks to two Washington, D.C., hospitals after someone recently found the masks on the crypt level of the historic church, they announced Wednesday.
Representatives from the cathedral delivered 3,000 masks to MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and 2,000 masks to Children’s National Hospital. They are reserving a portion of the masks for clergy to use while visiting the ill.
“In these difficult and trying times, the Cathedral community is doing everything we can to help protect the most vulnerable among us from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic,” the dean of the cathedral said in a statement.
Cathedral officials bought the masks more than a decade ago, “following a previous health scare,” and they were “forgotten about in the ensuing years.” They said they confirmed with the manufacturer and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that they were still safe to use.
The cathedral is partnering with the Red Cross on a blood drive this Friday, March 27.
