The administration of US President Joe Biden said Tuesday that it will appeal a judge’s ruling that ended the mask-wearing mandate on planes if public health authorities deem it necessary to slow the spread of Covid-19. .
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), referred to by the government, said they will continue to study whether the mandates are still necessary. The mandates apply to planes, trains and other forms of public transportation and – before Monday’s decision – were scheduled to expire on May 3.
“We will continue to assess the need for a mask requirement in those settings, based on several factors, including community levels of COVID-19 in the United States, the risk of circulating and emerging variants, and case trends and severity of infection. disease,” said a spokesman for the CDC in a statement on Tuesday.
The Justice Department He said he would appeal Monday’s ruling by Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle that the 14-month-old directive was illegal if the CDC determines the mandate is necessary to protect public health.
“If the CDC concludes that the mandatory order remains necessary for public health after that evaluation, the Justice Department will appeal the district court’s decision,” the Justice Department said in a statement.
The CDC They reiterated that they recommend the use of masks inside public transport.
This came hours after Bidenon a trip to New Hampshire, responded to a question about whether people should continue to wear masks on planes, saying, “It’s up to them.”
Monday’s court decision, made in response to a lawsuit filed last year in Tampa, Florida, means that the order of the CDC of wearing a mask on public transport is no longer in force, according to an official.
This decision comes at a time when the Covid-19 infections are on the rise in the United States and more than 400 people die each day from this airborne disease, based on the latest seven-day average.
The ruling followed a series of rulings against government directives to combat the infectious disease, which has killed nearly a million Americans, including vaccination or Covid-19 testing mandates for employers.
“Public health decisions should not be made by the courts. They should be made by public health experts,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
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