A federal transportation mask mandate will remain in place for an additional two weeks, says the CDC.
The mandate requires you to wear a mask on public buses, trains, planes, or any other form of public transportation as a measure to curb the spread of COVID-19. It remains in place because of a surge in COVID cases across the country.
“I actually think that’s the right thing to do,” said former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams on WISH-TV. “We know that cases are starting to go back up in some places, a 20-percent rise across the nation.”
The mandate was due to expire next Monday, April 18th. Adams said the best time to put these kinds of mandates in place is at the beginning of a surge, which he said we are in right now.
“We know it takes about two weeks for you to see cases turn into hospitalizations,” Adams added. “So that gives the CDC time to collect the data and make an informed decision on whether to relax these mandates.”
Adams said his colleagues at the CDC want to end the mandates as soon as possible, but he adds that history has been consistent that when cases start to go up two weeks later the number of people going to the hospital goes up.
He said that extra two weeks of masks will go a long way if keeping the number of people going to the hospital at a minimum.
