Today, U.S. District Court Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle struck down the federal rule requiring masks on airplanes, trains, buses and public transportation facilities. The CDC had extended the rule last week to last through May 3rd.
For its part, the Biden Administration could still appeal the ruling or seek an injunction to delay the ruling. While that could happen if this went up to the Supreme Court I suspect the mask mandate on public transportation will be dead on arrival even if COVID cases continue to rise.
Mizelle, a Trump appointee who is a member of the Federalist Society deemed unqualified by the American Bar Association said the CDC had exceeded its authority. However, Mizelle's ruling gave airlines, bus companies and local transit agencies leeway to retain mask mandates if they so wish.
As of this writing, in the Boston area, the MBTA is adhering to CDC guidelines and is reviewing Mizelle's ruling. So for the moment masks will still be required on the T. However, it will be interesting to see how many maskless commuters there are tomorrow morning.
As for me, I will be wearing my mask. The idea of spending more than 15 minutes on a crowded train without a mask is something I am not ready for just yet. There may come a time when I'll be comfortable going maskless on a crowded train, but that time hasn't yet arrived.
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