The administration of US President Joe Biden is no longer to enforce a US mask mandate on public transportation, after a federal judge in Florida on Monday ruled that the 14-month-old directive was unlawful, overturning a key White House effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Soon after the announcement, all major carriers, including American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, as well as national train line Amtrak, relaxed the restrictions effective immediately.
Last week, US health officials had extended the mandate to May 3, requiring travelers to wear masks on airplanes, trains and in taxis, ride-share vehicles or transit hubs, saying they needed time to assess the impact of a recent rise in COVID-19 cases caused by the airborne SARS-CoV-2.
Photo: AP
Industry groups and Republican lawmakers balked and wanted the administration to end the 14-month-old mask mandate permanently.
The ruling by US District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, an appointee of US President Donald Trump, came in a lawsuit filed last year in Tampa, Florida, by a group called the Health Freedom Defense Fund.
It follows a string of rulings against Biden administration directives to fight the infectious disease that has killed nearly 1 million Americans, including vaccine or test mandates for employers.
Mizelle said the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had exceeded its authority with the mandate, had not sought public comment and did not adequately explain its decisions.
A US administration official said while the agencies were assessing potential next steps, the court’s decision meant the CDC’s public transportation masking order was no longer in effect.
The administration could still opt to appeal the order or seek an emergency delay in the order’s enforcement.
“Therefore, TSA will not enforce its security directives and emergency amendment requiring mask use on public transportation and transportation hubs at this time,” the official said in a statement, referring to the US Transportation Security Administration. “CDC recommends that people continue to wear masks in indoor public transportation settings.”
The TSA said it would rescind the new security directives that were scheduled to take effect yesterday.
The ruling comes as COVID-19 infections rise again in the US, with 36,251 new infections reported on average each day, and 460 daily deaths, based on a seven-day average — the highest number of reported total COVID-19 deaths in the world.
The White House called the ruling “disappointing.”
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