The Justice Department has filed an appeal seeking to overturn a judge’s recent ruling ending the country’s mask on public transportation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had asked the department to appeal the decision, and issued a statement on Wednesday saying the mandate “remains necessary for public health.”
“The CDC continues to recommend that people wear masks in all public transportation environments,” the CDC statement continued. “The CDC’s number one priority is to protect our nation’s public health. As we said before, the use of masks is more beneficial in crowded or poorly ventilated places, such as the transportation aisle.”
The Department of Justice dit On Tuesday, he would appeal the decision of U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle only if the CDC said the warrant was still necessary. The department said Tuesday it disagreed with the district court’s decision, and after filing the appeal, Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley issued a statement Wednesday saying, “In sight of today’s CDC assessment, an order requiring masking in the transportation aisle is still needed.To protect public health, the Department has filed an appeal Health Freedom Defense Fund, Inc., et al., V. Biden, et al.“
Monday, Mizelle overturned the CDC’s requirement to cover aircraft and other public transportation, ruling that the mandate exceeded the authority of U.S. health officials. Then the Transportation Security Administration said it would no longer enforce the mandate.
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The judge’s decision came days after the CDC did extended the mandate of the maskwhich was due to expire on Monday, in two weeks to give researchers more time to study the Omicron BA.2 subvariant.
However, the response to the sentence has been varied. Some cities, such as New York and Philadelphia, still require masks at airports and public transportation, while others, such as Houston and Atlanta, do not. Even the airlines they now have different rules to disguise himself, though most now say masks are optional for passengers. Amtrak has also said that masks are no longer needed on trains or stations.
When asked on Tuesday if people should still wear masks on planes, President Biden replied, “It’s up to them,” according to The Associated Press.
Dr. Céline Gounder, an infectious disease expert and editor-in-chief of Kaiser Health News, told CBS Mornings that the CDC enlargement was the “proper” and “prudent” approach.
“We know this virus is mutating. In fact, it is mutating very quickly,” he said. “We’ll see more variants and see other pandemics after COVID. So I think the idea of stripping ourselves of a tool and an essential toolbox is a very bad idea.”
Victoria Albert and Robert Legare contributed to the report.
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