As mask mandates are disappearing around the United States, Americans will have to continue wearing masks on airplanes, in airports, on buses and on trains and transit for another month.
The Biden administration was set to announce the extension of the mandate, which will last until at least April 18. It was set to expire March 18.
The extension reportedly follows a recommendation by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Any decision to lift the ban will be based on “COVID-19 community levels, risk of new variants, national data and the latest science,” a CDC official told The Hill.
More than 90% of the American population is in areas with low or medium COVID-19 levels. In those areas, masks are no longer required indoors.
“We have to look not only at the science with regard to transmission in masks but also the epidemiology and the frequency that we may encounter a variant of concern or a variant of interest in our travel corridors,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said on March 2, explaining why the agency was delaying removing the requirement for transit but allowing people to gather maskless in movie theaters and sports arenas.
Some information in this report comes from The Associated Press.
