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 Marty Cetron, director for the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention's (CDC) Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, told
Reuters Thursday the agency's "current position" is the mandate
should not be lifted.
"Masks are really powerful and we should make sure they're part of
our arsenal," Cetron said in an interview. "We mask not just to
protect ourselves - we mask because it's the way we take care and
express our concern for each other."
The rules in place since January require masks to be worn by all
travelers on airplanes, ships, trains, subways, buses, taxis, and
ride-shares and at transport hubs like airports, bus or ferry
terminals, train and subway stations and ports.
"The truth is that the unvaccinated portion that's out there is
extremely vulnerable," Cetron said, especially in an indoor
transportation hub "where the ventilation may not be optimized."
A group of Republican lawmakers this week introduced legislation to
prohibit mask mandates for public transport, arguing they no longer
make sense with a growing number of Americans getting vaccinated.
Republican Representative Andy Biggs said transit mask rules "are
only being kept in place by those who relish controlling our
day-to-day lives."
In mid-May, CDC said fully vaccinated people could avoid wearing
masks indoors in most places - with some exceptions like transit.
The mask mandate has been a huge source of friction on U.S.
airplanes. The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday that
since Jan. 1 it has received 3,420 unruly passenger reports,
including 2,559 for refusing to wear masks.
The Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) said Sunday was the
single-busiest day since February 2020, with
nearly 2.2 million passengers.
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"I get we're all just over this emotionally but I do think we will
succeed together if we realize the virus is the enemy and it's not
your fellow citizen or the person sitting next to you on a plane or
a piece of cloth that you have to wear over your face," Cetron said.
The CDC transit mask order has no expiration date. In April, the TSA
extended its mask requirement until Sept. 13.
"As long as the CDC order is in place, the expectation is the
implementing modes ... would continue with their own directives,"
Cetron said.
 "We won't wait until September to
reevaluate," Cetron said, adding CDC is regularly reviewing the
mandate. "If the pandemic were to suddenly disappear before then we
have the ability to take down the order."
Under Donald Trump, a CDC push to mandate masks in transit was
blocked.
Asked if he still believes there is a scientific or public health
basis for U.S. travel restrictions that bar entry from some
countries in the United States, Cetron said: "I'm not going to get
into the details" but said U.S. government discussions are going on.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Robert Birsel)
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