UPDATE MAY 3, 2022:
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials are restating their recommendation that Americans wear masks on planes, trains and buses, despite a court ruling last month (April 2022) that struck down a national mask mandate on public transportation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday issued a statement saying Americans age 2 and older should wear a well-fitting masks on public transportation, as well as in airports and train stations. Last month, a federal judge in Florida struck down a government requirement for masking in public transportation. The Justice Department is appealing the decision.
UPDATE APRIL 19, 2022:
UNDATED (AP)- A decision by a federal judge in Florida to throw out a national mask mandate in public transportation across the U.S. created a patchwork of rules Monday (April 18, 2022) that vary by city and mode of transit. Passengers on an American Airlines flight from Houston to New York, for instance, could ditch their masks at the airport and on the plane but have to put them back to ride a bus or train once they arrived in New York. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had recently extended the mandate until May 3 to allow more time to study the BA.2 omicron subvariant of the coronavirus now responsible for the vast majority of U.S. cases. But the Biden administration said Monday the rule would not be enforced while federal agencies decide how to respond to the judge’s order.
APRIL 18, 2022:
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A federal judge in Florida has voided the national mask mandate covering airplanes and other public transportation as exceeding the authority of U.S. health officials. The decision Monday (April 18, 2022) by U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Tampa also said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention improperly failed to justify its decision and did not follow proper rulemaking. The CDC recently extended the mask mandate until May 3, 2022, to allow more time to study the BA.2 omicron subvariant. The Justice Department declined to comment Monday when asked if the government planned to appeal the ruling.
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