According to an Aug. 18 CBS News article by Sophie Reardon, the federal requirement that U.S. passengers wear masks on public transportation will remain in effect until at least early 2022.
Reardon wrote that "‘TSA [the federal Transportation Security Administration] will extend the directives through January 18, 2022,’ the agency said in a statement to CBS News. ‘The purpose of TSA's mask directive is to minimize the spread of COVID-19 on public transportation.’”
This news should come as no surprise as the Delta variant is continuing to spread across the U.S. More and more schools, local governments, and entertainment/sports venues are again requiring masks.
U.S. Travel Association executive vice president of public affairs and policy, Tori Emerson Barnes, was quoted in the article saying that "Extending the federal mask mandate for travel makes sense for the current health environment and has the travel industry's full support. The universal wearing of masks in airports and on airplanes, trains, and other forms of public transportation is both an effective safeguard against spreading the virus and boosts public confidence in traveling—both of which are paramount for a sustained economic recovery."
Reardon reported that “Over the summer, travel neared pre-pandemic levels. Between July 30 to August 1, the TSA said it screened approximately 6.4 million travelers, up from the 2.3 million screened during the same time period in 2020. However, a recent survey shows people are once again growing more hesitant to travel—27 percent of respondents said they postponed a trip and more than 54 percent said the Delta variant has made them less interested in traveling right now. Still, 26 percent of respondents say they plan to travel in October.”
Although masks are proven to be an effective way of preventing the spread of COVID-19, there were many “incidents of unruly behavior” due to the mask mandate. Reardon concluded that “TSA employees were physically assaulted in more than 69 incidents between March 2020 and June 2021, and the agency has initiated more than 1,700 compliance investigations since the mask mandate went into effect.”
