The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have announced plans to appeal a federal judge from Florida’s ruling that the CDC has exceeding its authority under the Public Health Service Act, should the CDC conclude the order remains necessary. In her ruling, the district judge voided the federal mask mandate that required face coverings to be worn on all public transportation, including in airports and on aircraft.
In a statement, the DOJ said, “The Department continues to believe that the order requiring masking in the transportation corridor is a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given CDC to protect the public health.” The CDC had recently extended the mask mandate from April 18 to May 3. The ruling was made on April 18.
That said, according to The New York Times, President Joe Biden said whether Americans should wear masks or not is “up to them.”
Following the announcement, U.S. Travel Association Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Policy Tori Emerson Barnes said, “We have long stated that mask usage on public transportation should be an individual choice, and we were pleased to hear President Biden echo that sentiment this week—especially as the CDC’s own guidance advises that the overwhelming majority of Americans do not need to wear masks in indoor public settings.
“Masks were critically important during the height of the pandemic, but with low hospitalization rates and multiple effective health tools now widely available, from boosters to therapies to high-quality air ventilation aboard aircraft, required masking on public transportation is simply out of step with the current public health landscape.”
On the other hand, American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) President and CEO Zane Kerby said, “The current back and forth on the mask mandate pertaining to various forms of transportation misses the mark and overshadows very real policies deterring international travel. Requiring Americans to test negative prior to returning home from abroad is the public policy that needs immediate reversal. Millions of Americans travel by air every day. Those traveling internationally risk quarantining abroad and navigating multiple foreign countries’ bureaucratic and ever-changing pandemic rules. As a result, Americans are delaying or simply canceling international trips, ensuring once again that travel will be the last industry to recover from the pandemic."
ASTA has also begun a campaign urging the CDC to remove its one-day testing requirement for travel into the United States. On its Advocacy page, ASTA has created a template “letter to the editor” to sway public opinion. Beyond the template, ASTA is suggesting its members share their personal stories about how COVID travel restrictions are affecting their businesses. As it has repeatedly already, ASTA called the rule “the single biggest barrier to the full recovery of the international travel system.”
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