Lifting of Covid mask mandate on US transportation horrifies health experts

Videos were shared of people removing their masks and cheering, music was blasted over plane speakers, pilots shared the news from the cockpit and flight attendants jumped with joy.

The potential for outbreaks is what drove the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to delay on 13 April the end of the transportation mask mandate by two weeks, from 18 April to 3 May. The agency said it wanted to assess the rise in cases that have been attributed to the spread of the BA.2 Omicron subvariant before it lifted the mandate.

But then a US district court judge in Florida on 18 April struck down the extension, saying that the agency overstepped its authority. Cue the videos of mask-less people cheering on planes.

Miller said she was concerned about what message the lifting of the mandate is giving to Americans.

For many employees of airlines, the problem with face masks did not come from following the mandate itself, but dealing with angry customers who refused to wear masks. A survey from the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) found a rise in the number of flight attendants who had to deal with unruly passengers. One in five had experienced physical incidents, while 85% had to deal with unruly passengers in 2021. The Federal Aviation Administration reported that investigations into unruly passengers spiked during the pandemic, largely because of issues with mask compliance.

In a statement released after the mask mandate was lifted, Sara Nelson, president of the AFA noted the trouble flight attendants had with enforcing mandates.

While airlines are happily getting their passengers back onboard, what the lifting of the mandate will mean for the pandemic is unclear.

Some public health experts have expressed concern over the uncertainty of the effects of long Covid, even in those who initially had mild cases of the virus. Karan recalls getting Covid in January and being out sick for 10 days. He had ongoing symptoms for weeks.