New York, United States
all travelers of public transportation in the US must wear a mask by federal order, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced this Saturday in the face of the continuing increase in the number of coronavirus infections.
Passengers will be required to follow the new order, effective Tuesday, Feb. 2, on boarding, disembarking, and for the duration of the trip on planes, buses, trains, subways, boats, and shared vehicles.
“Given the interconnectedness that most transportation systems are in our nation and with the world, when infected people travel in public vehicles without wearing a mask and with others who do not wear it, the risk of interstate and international transmission can grow rapidly “Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, director of the CDC, said in a statement.
So far the airlines they had demanded masks from passengers on their own initiative and several states had taken similar initiatives, but there was no federal order that applied nationwide.
As of January 26, the US requires all international travelers to arrive in the country by air with a negative coronavirus test performed a maximum of 72 hours before the trip.
Since arriving at the White House on January 20, President Joe Biden has strengthened public health control averages to contain the spread of the pandemic.
The United States is the country in the world hardest hit by covid-19, with more than 265 million infections and 438,000 deaths.