Do masks work if nobody else wears one? A ruling by a judge in Florida means the federal requirement to wear masks on airplanes and public transportation is gone, leaving many wondering what it all means.
Once TSA said it would no longer enforce the rule, airlines, airports, transit systems and ride-share services were free to decide for themselves whether to require masks. United, Delta, American, Southwest, Alaska, JetBlue and other airlines all made masks voluntary.
Dr. David Dowdy, an infectious-disease epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said planes can carry the virus from place to place, but that we should be focusing more on big indoor events such as concerts and sporting events — even large weddings —where people get together and talk, shout and sing.The CDC continues to recommend that people mask up indoors while traveling.Yes, masks still give some protection from COVID-19, but they work better if others wear them too.
Although the airline industry lobbied to kill the mandate — after supporting it originally — airlines don’t expect the rule’s demise to affect revenue. They are far more interested in seeing the United States repeal another pandemic-era rule: The requirement that people test clear of the virus within a day of flying to the U.S.
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