TSA Extends mask mandate for buses, planes and trains until at least September

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I laugh so hard at videos of anti-maskers getting kicked off planes. (While it must be so frustrating if the flights were diverted, I hope they serve as a warning to other maskholes.) For all the videos of people being prosecuted for refusing to wear masks, there are surely so many more who were allowed to go without due to sheer arrogance and whiteness. It’s just too much trouble to confront those people because they’re already showing how obnoxious they are by going maskless. The good news is that the TSA has extended their mask mandate on public transportation until September 13th. It was originally set to expire in May. This means that stiff fines will remain in place until then.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) extended its face mask mandate on Friday, requiring the PPE to be worn in airports, bus stations and train stations, as well as on corresponding travel, until Sept. 13. The mandate originally went into effect on Feb. 1, with an expiration date of May 11.

While the requirement has been extended, those who break the mandate could still face a penalty of up to $1,500. Travelers under 2 years old and those with disabilities will still be exempt from the mandate.

“The federal mask requirement throughout the transportation system seeks to minimize the spread of COVID-19 on public transportation,” said Darby LaJoye, the senior official performing the duties of the TSA administrator, in a statement.

Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently cleared fully vaccinated people to travel safely within the United States, officials still recommend face masks, hand washing and social distancing. The TSA’s statement also notes that their latest mandate extension “is consistent with this most recent CDC guidance.”

[From People]

The article goes on to say that the EU will allow vaccinated American tourists to visit starting sometime this summer. Although the timeline is unclear they state that all EU countries will accept vaccinated people.

I booked a flight for June to see my parents for the first time in a year a half. Even though I am fully vaccinated, I still get anxiety around people without masks. It’s an emotional response that I am trying to unlearn. We’re going to Florida so I don’t expect much. The mask mandate is reassuring because even if people don’t follow the law, at least it’s there. I’m so grateful to the Biden administration and to all the scientists for their hard work and smart policies getting us through the pandemic. It didn’t have to be this bad but at least some changes are being made.

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13 Responses to “TSA Extends mask mandate for buses, planes and trains until at least September”

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  1. Brittany says:

    I thought the pandemic would make people more cautious and health-conscious but it seems to have had the opposite effect on certain (Republican/undereducated/Q-Anon) people. How??? How can they refuse to just wear a simple mask to protect their own health and other people’s health? It’s so appalling.

  2. Scal says:

    My only bummer about this is that I can NOT get my just turned 2 year old to wear a mask. he’s sensory sensitive and if it even touches his face he goes into a full meltdown. (the 8 year old we worked for 6 months and now he’ll tolerate it)

    I got a vaccine, I wear my mask, but man I wish the age limit was just a little bit higher. We’re delaying flying til it’s lifted, but I don’t know a 2 year old that can wear a mask perfectly for 2-3 hours.

    • Guest says:

      I second this! My son turns two in a couple of weeks and we would like to go visit my husband’s family that we haven’t seen since November 2019 but there is no way we are keeping a mask on that kid to fly across the country. We’re both vaxxed, we wear masks, but unless some major maturity developments happen in the next week or two, there’s no way we’re going anywhere.

  3. Izzy says:

    GOOD.

  4. Sam says:

    I work at a hotel and boy, do guests get mad when I tell them to wear a mask. It’s a constant fight and I’m tired of it

    • Katherine says:

      Thank you for doing it though. I’m so grateful for each person who is in a position to enforce the masks and actually goes through the trouble of doing it.

  5. Truthiness says:

    Cautionary tale. My boss has a son who works in a hospital, the son got both shots in January. Covid swept through their house a couple weeks ago and the son still caught the virus. He did breeze through the infection but I was surprised he tested positive at all. He had to quarantine 2 weeks but it’s crazy to me that he could’ve been infectious at all.

    • Katherine says:

      Because vaccines don’t make you bulletproof, you need to test for antibodies a month after the second dose to see if you have enough antibodies to fight it off. I plan to do it and will get more vaccinations if the titres are low.

    • Scal says:

      The vaccines are about 90-95% effective in the real world, so it doesn’t surprise me at all. That’s why CDC is telling folks to still be careful in large crowds when we can.

  6. Riley says:

    I will most likely continue to wear a mask on airplanes even after the mandate has been lifted. My state still has the mandate in place, but when that’s lifted, I expect I will still wear a mask to very crowded places too.

    • ME says:

      We should continue wearing masks during winter time to help stop the spread of colds/flu even if we get a handle on Covid. It only makes sense but I know people won’t.

    • Snazzy says:

      Yup, me too. I think it’s just going to be a habit now, well into the future

  7. Mel says:

    I support this 100%! Look at what happened to designer Alber Elbaz, died recently of covid even though he had been fully vaccinated. I still think masks are our best defense when outside and even though I hate to wear them I will keep at it to protect myself and others.