Why You Should Keep Wearing a Mask on Planes--Even When You No Longer Have To [View all]

[marmar]

(TIME) For more than a year, a mask has been as essential at the airport as a boarding pass: you can’t fly without one. But the federal mask mandate for planes, trains, buses, and transit stations including airports is set to expire on March 18, and so far, the government has not announced plans to extend it.

That could change. The Transportation Security Administration has extended the face mask requirement several times so far. But as Omicron cases decline nationwide and states drop their own mandates, it’s not clear whether the policy will be renewed again. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Feb. 25 relaxed its own guidance around masking and currently says indoor masking is not necessary for about 70% of the population. Though that guidance is separate from the travel mandate, it signals a growing acceptance for going bare-faced.

For months, airline executives have questioned the need for in-flight mask mandates, arguing that the air filtration systems on planes are effective enough to eliminate virtually all airborne pathogens. Representatives for the nation’s largest flight attendant union, however, have said they expect the mandate to be extended, since COVID-19 is still circulating widely and young children remain ineligible for vaccines.

It’s not clear yet whether the Biden Administration will extend the transportation mask mandate. But here’s what the research says about wearing masks on airplanes.

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Khatib says the federal travel mask mandate probably should be extended again, but it remains to be seen whether that will happen. “Given that we’re still coming off a huge Omicron surge” and that there have been reports of a new, related variant, “it does seem a little bit premature to lift these mask mandates,” she says.

Even if the mandate expires, Khatib says she will continue masking up on flights. Jacobson says he will do the same. Highly protective masks, such as N95s and KN95s, can filter out almost all particles when worn correctly, so they can help keep the wearer healthy even if those around them are unmasked. ............(more)

https://time.com/6151061/should-you-wear-mask-flights-covid-19-mandates/