Federal mask mandate for planes, buses and trains to extend into next year
Source: Washington Post
The Transportation Security Administration said Tuesday that it will extend a federal mask mandate for airline, bus and train passengers into next year, requiring the face coverings until Jan. 18, 2022. The mandate — issued in the first days after President Biden took office — was never relaxed, even during the early-summer months when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began telling fully vaccinated people that masks were generally no longer necessary.
While a CDC order imposing the transportation requirement has no end date, TSA enforcement rules had been set to expire Sept. 13. “The purpose of TSA’s mask directive is to minimize the spread of covid-19 on public transportation,” said a statement from the agency. The extension was first reported by Reuters.With the delta variant causing a new surge in coronavirus cases, the CDC has walked back its loosened guidance on masks as mandates have returned in some cities and school districts.
Transportation is one of the few areas in which the federal government has taken responsibility for imposing such rules. Violators of the mandate face fines. The rules apply at airports and train stations, as well as on planes, trains and buses. Children under 2 and people with certain disabilities are exempt. The extension of the transportation mask mandate comes as flight attendants continue to grapple with unruly passengers, some of whom have become confrontational when reminded that they must wear a mask.
The Federal Aviation Administration has been trying to crack down on bad behavior among passengers, warning of fines and potential prison time, but has struggled with the surge in cases. Nonetheless, it has proposed hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines. Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, said the extension of the mandate would “help tremendously to keep passengers and aviation workers safe.”
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2021/08/17/tsa-transportation-mask-mandate/
= new reply since forum marked as read
I figured they would go ahead and extend from whatever date, but assumed the initial order was in place for at least a year... Obviously not.
So glad it is extended, given the mess magats have our country in.
