A mask left on the ground at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York on April 19, 2022. SPENCER PLATT / AFP
The U.S. government gave itself two days of thought and consultation before announcing on Wednesday, April 20th, that it is appealing the court decision removing the requirement to wear masks on public transportation in the United States become. The Justice Department said it would await the opinion of the country’s main federal health agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), before making a decision.
The latter said in a press release that they “believe that, at present, an order to wear a mask indoors in traffic remains necessary for public health reasons”. “As we have already said, wearing a mask brings an advantage, especially in very crowded and poorly ventilated places,” they added in support of their appeal request.
That appeal comes after a federal judge on Monday assessed that public health officials have exceeded their powers by mandating the wearing of a mask in transit, such as on planes, trains or even buses. The country’s major airlines gave up the mask requirement, followed by the rail company Amtrak or VTC companies such as Uber.
Some officials later feared that if left unaddressed, a Florida-based judge’s decision would result in the CDC’s authority being curtailed going forward.
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Sensitive topic
The call from the American government could complicate the situation and possibly lead to tensions for travelers when the mask requirement, which is already difficult to comply with, is finally reintroduced.
Wearing a mask is a very sensitive issue, especially for flight personnel (stewards and stewardesses) who have had to deal with the restraint of many passengers over the past two years, some of whom have turned violent. The FAA, the authority responsible for aviation safety in the USA, has reported 744 incidents in connection with the mask since the beginning of the year.
Also read: Covid-19: The USA is greatly relaxing its mask recommendations
The US health agency said it will continue to continuously assess the health situation to determine whether such a commitment remains necessary going forward. Last week she decided to extend the mask requirement on public transport at least until May 3rd.
The United States is now again seeing an increase in daily cases of Covid-19 linked to the BA.2 subvariant of Omicron.