According to the draft release, the agency, working with the Department of Health and Human Services, would first send masks to areas with high COVID-19 transmission rates at the time -- including Louisiana's Orleans and Jefferson parishes, King County, Washington, New York and Wayne County, Michigan.
"Our organization is uniquely suited to undertake this historic mission of delivering face coverings to every American household in the fight against the COVID-19 virus," the then-postmaster general and CEO, Megan J. Brennan, said in the prepared release.
The White House declined to comment on the draft proposal, referring questions to the Department of Health and Human Services, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for the Postal Service did not respond to a message seeking comment.
"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," one administration official told The Washington Post about the proposal.