Amtrak has dropped its facial mask requirement for passengers and employees.
The passenger carrier acted after a federal judge in Florida set aside the mask mandate that had applied to all modes of public transportation.
The Biden administration said following the ruling by Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle that it would not enforce the mask mandate and was still considering whether to appeal the judge’s decision.
An Amtrak official said passengers and employees can still choose to wear a facial mask.
The mask mandate dates to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020 and later became a federal rule that has been extended several times.
USA Today reported that many airlines, including United, Southwest, Delta and American, also have dropped the facial mask rule.
The federal facial mask mandate had been set to expire on Monday but the Centers for Disease Control wanted it extended through May 3 to provide more time to study the BA2 omicron variant of COVID-19.
The Florida judge ruled that extending the mask mandate exceeded the CDC’s authority and the federal agency failed to justify the order or follow proper rule making procedures.
Tags: Amtrak, Biden administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID-19 pandemic, face masks
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