(Headline USA) The Justice Department said Tuesday it will appeal a federal district judge’s ruling that ended the nation’s federal mask mandate on public transit if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes the requirement is still necessary, regardless of whether or not the mandate is actually legal.
In a statement released a day after a Florida judge ended the sweeping mandate, which required face coverings on planes and trains and in transit hubs, DOJ spokesman Anthony Coley said officials believe that the federal mask order was “a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given CDC to protect the public health.”
He said it was “an important authority the Department will continue to work to preserve.”
Coley said the CDC had said it would continue to assess public health conditions, and if the agency determined a mandate was necessary for public health, the Justice Department would file an appeal.
As of Tuesday, the agency hadn’t made a determination, officials said.
The federal judge’s ruling did away with the last major vestige of federal pandemic rules and led to a mishmash of new locally created rules that reflected the nation’s ongoing divisions over how to battle the virus.
Major airlines and airports in places like Dallas, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City quickly switched to a mask-optional policy.
Los Angeles County dropped its mandate for mass transit, and a train conductor in New Jersey told commuters of their masks Tuesday: “Feel free to burn them at will.”
New York City, Chicago and Connecticut, however, continued to require masks for travelers.
The ride-sharing companies Lyft and Uber announced on their websites Tuesday that masks will now be optional while riding or driving.
Even Walt Disney World in Florida on Tuesday announced it was lifting its mask requirement for its monorail, buses and sky gondola.
For many, the news was welcome.
A video showed some passengers on a Delta Air Lines flight cheering and applauding as they removed masks upon hearing the announcement they were now optional. One man happily twirled his mask on his finger.
However Brooke Tansley, a television producer and former Broadway performer, was incensed after boarding a flight with her 4-year-old and 8-month-old baby—neither old enough to be vaccinated—only to learn the mask mandate had ended mid-flight.
“Very very angry about this,” she said in a tweet, noting her baby was too young to wear a mask.
In Portland, Oregon, transit employees immediately began taking down “mask required” announcements and signs, but said it would likely take several days to remove everything.
The city joined Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Kansas City, Missouri, and two of Alaska’s largest cities, Anchorage and Juneau, in making masking optional on mass transit.
Some passengers at Chicago’s Union Station said the rules were confusing. Amtrak dropped its requirement. The Chicago Transit Authority and Metra, the regional commuter rail service, kept the requirement at first but dropped it late Tuesday.
“It’s like this patchwork of different rules and enforcement of it,” said Erik Abderhalden, who wore a mask as he waited for a Metra train to his home in suburban Naperville. “I mean, it’s like Swiss cheese … there’s no uniformity and it seems pretty laissez-faire.”
Subway rider Cooper Klinges was pleased that New York City’s public transit system wasn’t following the trend and planned to keep its mask requirement in place. As he waited at a Brooklyn train station, he said he canceled a flight earlier this year over concerns about the virus.
“I don’t think we are out of the woods yet,” said Klinges, a teacher, citing concerns about the BA.2 omicron subvariant of the coronavirus. “It is still around. We have to still stick it out.”
President Joe Biden avoided taking a clear stance when asked about the legal defeat—seeking instead to defer the decision to his partisan CDC.
“That’s up to them,” Biden declared during a visit to Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
The White House continues to require face coverings for those traveling with him on Air Force One, citing CDC guidance. However, both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have repeatedly been called out for their inconsistency and hypocrisy while neglecting to follow the guidance in public settings.
During a recent visit from former President Barack Obama, Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi shared what appeared to be a maskless kiss and hair sniff. Pelosi tested positive for the coronavirus shortly thereafter.
Now COVID-POSITIVE Pelosi kissed Biden on the cheek Tuesday before grabbing Obama’s hand and putting it on her MOUTH.
Our ruling class scoffs in your FACE as they demand theatrical obedience from your masked children
WATCH THE TAPE. pic.twitter.com/vnGHFF6H0E
— Benny “Libs Of Tik Tok” Aficionado (@bennyjohnson) April 7, 2022
The CDC had recently extended the mask mandate, which was set to expire Monday, until May 3 to allow more time to study the latest subvariant, which is now responsible for the vast majority of U.S. cases even though fatalities and hospitilizations have plunged in many parts of the country—red states in particular.
But several Northeast cities have seen a rise in hospitalizations in recent weeks, leading Philadelphia to bring back its mask mandate.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
