Airlines Still Don't Think New CDC Mask Guidelines Go Far Enough

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a "strong recommendation" for masks and facial coverings on all forms of public transportation but stopped short of mandating their use. The decision updates prior guidance that merely recommended mask use on board aircraft, trains, buses, and other forms of transportation but still does not have the force of law that many airlines and their unions have clamored for. "Intrastate transmission of the virus has led to—and continues to lead to—interstate and international spread of the virus," CDC wrote in its new recommendation."Given how interconnected most transportation systems are across the nation and the world, local transmission can grow quickly into interstate and international transmission when infected persons travel on public conveyances without wearing a mask and with others who are not wearing masks."

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This is a stunning reversal for the CDC. Earlier this month, the The New York Times first reported that political appointees at the CDC had quashed guidelines recommending mask use on public transport, arguing that the decision should be left up to individual states and municipalities. The new guidelines, however, are the agency's most strongly worded on the matter to date and are in stark contrast to the message from the