U.S. travelers and travelers will be required to wear masks on almost every form of public transportation and within transportation centers, according to an emergency order Friday at the end of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The mandate, which takes effect on Tuesday and applies to most all over-2s, effectively reverses the Trump administration’s policy of leaving the decision to local leaders. It follows an executive order issued by President Biden on Jan. 21, which required passengers to wear facials during interstate travel.
Under the new CDC policy, all travelers must wear face masks on their mouths and noses on airplanes, boats, trains, subways, buses, taxis and shared vehicles and within airports, bus or ferry terminals, stations of train and metro and seaports.
The newly opened Moynihan train station in New York was empty on Friday as the coronavirus refers to reduced travel.
Photo:
John Lamparski / Zuma Press
“Requiring masks on our transportation systems will protect Americans and provide confidence that we will be able to travel safely again even during this pandemic,” according to the 11-page order signed by Marty Cetron, director of the Division of CDC Global Migration and Quarantine. “Increasing universal masking by 15% could avoid the need for blockages and reduce the associated losses of up to $ 1 trillion or about 5% of gross domestic product.”
The order says the breach is a violation of federal law and people without a mask will not be allowed to board public transportation. The CDC said the order is an “emergency action” and would be enforced by state, federal and local legal officials.
President Trump blocked the CDC’s effort to demand masks in transit. Instead, the agency issued firm recommendations for the use of masks. Trump also rejected Congressional efforts to demand the use of masks.
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The use of masks to control the spread of coronavirus became a politically divisive issue last year. Many Republicans refused to wear them, questioning their effectiveness and saying a mask warrant was a case where the government was violating their personal liberty. Trump didn’t wear any in public for much of last summer.
Proponents of the masks cited studies proving their effectiveness in slowing the spread of the virus.
The different approaches of Trump’s White House and the CDC to masks led to regular clashes and a decline in trust in the CDC, for many years one of the country’s most trusted federal agencies.
The CDC order delivered Friday exempts people with disabilities who cannot wear a mask and private cars for personal use. People will also be allowed to take off their mask to eat or drink or identify themselves.
The order comes when 25.9 million people in the United States have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began, accounting for more than a quarter of the world’s total.
On Friday, CDC also extended a moratorium on evictions of tenants related to non-payment of rent or housing. The order, which was scheduled to expire on January 31, will run until March 31.
Protection is limited to tenants who do not earn more than $ 99,000 a year or a couple does not earn more than $ 198,000.
Write to Douglas Belkin to [email protected]
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