WASHINGTON (Washington Insider Magazine) – If the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers it appropriate, the Justice Department will appeal the latest judgment that struck down the federal mask regulation on public transportation.
The question today is if the CDC still believes the restriction on public transportation is a key public health measure, as it did just last week after it prolonged the rule until May 3 to track an increase in instances of the BA.2 variety of omicron, a more contagious variant of omicron. According to ABC NEWS, if the CDC decides to reinstate the mandate, it’s uncertain if the Justice Department’s intervention would result in reform before the mandate expires.
The CDC, on its part, reacted later Tuesday, saying it was still evaluating whether or not a mask mandate was necessary.
A federal mask law that applies to public transit was taken down on Monday by a Florida judge picked by former President Trump, thereby eliminating the need on buses, planes, trains, and inside airports all across the United States.
The judge’s judgment took effect right away. Despite the fact that the federal government was anticipated to appeal the ruling, neither President Biden nor White House press secretary Jen Psaki specified which way the Department of Justice was heading until Tuesday’s statement.
Masking is a political flashpoint before the upcoming elections, and the government has chosen not to combat it hard because mask regulations have been abolished in parts of the nation.
The Transportation Security Administration will no longer impose the mandate to wear a mask on public transport services, but the CDC continues to encourage them late Monday, according to an administration source.
The court’s judgment resulted in a mishmash of laws, such as flying without a mask in or out of New York’s Kennedy and LaGuardia airport terminals but wearing one while strolling through them.
However, while Amtrak and ride-sharing services such as Lyft and Uber have abandoned their mask policies, other large cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago, continue to demand them on public transit.
All of the major U.S. airlines’ CEOs appealed to the Biden administration last month, requesting an end to the mask regulations on airlines.
The group claims that it is its personnel who are responsible for executing the mask order.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, there have been 1,150 incidents of disruptive travelers on flights this year, with 744 of them including face masks.
