The US is passing grim Covid-19 milestones by the day with the nation crossing the 400,000 death milestones. Adding to the problem is an atrocious vaccination rollout and a new, more contagious variant. Combating the pandemic is the major goal of the Biden Administration’s first hundred days. One way they will do this is with a newly signed executive order mandating face masks on interstate travel.
The travel order applies to airports and planes, trains, ferries, intercity buses, and public transportation. The order is a directive to several agencies to take action to require masks to be worn in compliance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. The same order also requires international travelers to prove they have a recent negative Covid-19 test before heading to the United States and to comply with quarantining guidelines issued by the CDC and Prevention once they land.
This order is a relief for flight attendants. Despite airline issued mask mandates, they were difficult to enforce without federal backing putting flight attendants and other staff at risk. The issue of enforcement is still not fully resolved as much will fall to different agencies. It does not seem that truck drivers are subject to this mandate and should not be pulled over for driving without a mask.
Going further, the new administration would like everyone to wear a mask when outside their household for the next hundred days. Currently, 35 states, as well as Washington DC and Puerto Rico, have mask mandates. The administration would like the remaining governors to institute similar mandates but does not have the authority to force such a thing.
Since travel, particularly around the holidays, is a major spreader of Covid-19, testing and masking requirements should help curb the spread and with a better vaccine rollout work to get this pandemic under control.
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