The federal government isn't ready to lift its transportation mask mandate just yet.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will extend a requirement that masks be worn on public transportation for another two weeks, The Associated Press and CNN reported Wednesday. The mandate affects planes, trains, buses, and transportation hubs.
This mandate was set to expire on April 18 after it was most recently extended for another month in March. At the time, the CDC said it would "work with government agencies to help inform a revised policy framework for when, and under what circumstances, masks should be required in the public transportation corridor."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But a Biden administration official told CNN the CDC is recommending the TSA extend the mandate again through May 3 to give the agency "additional time" to "learn more" about the BA.2 subvariant of COVID-19 and "make a best-informed decision."
Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House's coronavirus response coordinator, told NBC's Today earlier this week extending the travel mask mandate was "absolutely on the table," though he noted the decision was up to the CDC. At the same time, he told Today he wasn't "overly concerned" about BA.2 as some states see an uptick in cases.
"We've got to watch this very carefully," he said. "Obviously, I never like to see infections rising. I think we've got to be careful. But I don't think this is a moment where we have to be excessively concerned."
-
Music reviews: Chance the Rapper, Cass McCombs, and Molly TuttleFeature "Star Line," "Interior Live Oak," and "So Long Little Miss Sunshine"
-
Film reviews: Eden and Honey Don't!Feature Seekers of a new utopia spiral into savagery and a queer private eye prowls a high-desert town
-
Critics' choice: Three chefs fulfilling their ambitionsFeature Kwame Onwuachi's grand second act, Travis Lett makes a comeback, and Jeff Watson's new Korean restaurant
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sickspeed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last yearspeed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
