We’re Toying With a Ruinous End to COVID Travel Masking

On Feb. 2, 2021, near the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CDC issued a public health order requiring masks in interstate transportation and at transit hubs, including airplanes, trains, and mass transit. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) issued a security directive to enforce CDC’s order. Ever since, CDC has extended the mandate, with the most recent extension setting the mandate to expire on May 3. The agency was not expected to renew it after that, so long as the current BA.2 surge does not cause significant spikes in hospitalizations and deaths, as occurred in the U.K.

Read the op-ed here.