Mail workers hold drill, prep for possible attack
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A Minnesota postal carrier says she’s looking forward to taking part in an exercise this weekend to test whether postal workers can deliver thousands of doses of medicine in an emergency.
Barb Watczak of Brooklyn Center says Sunday’s drill will show that postal carriers can do more than deliver the mail.
The Postal Service is teaming with Minnesota health officials to test a response to a bioterror attack. The plan would deliver an empty pill bottle and a flier in several languages to 37,000 households in the Minneapolis area.
It’s the country’s first full-scale test for postal workers to distribute medicine in case of an anthrax outbreak or other medical emergency. Plans for similar practice runs are in the works in Boston, San Diego, Philadelphia and Louisville, Ky.