JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday he’s leading a multi-state lawsuit that seeks to end the Biden administration’s mask mandate on airplanes and other public transportation.
Florida and 20 other Republican-led states are participating in the lawsuit. The announcement follows the Biden administration’s decision to extend the public transportation mask mandate until at least April 18.
“If politicians and celebrities can attend the Super Bowl unmasked, every U.S. citizen should have the right to fly unmasked,” Mr. DeSantis said. “It is well past time to get rid of this unnecessary mandate and get back to normal life.”
He said Mr. Biden’s decision to extend the mask mandate was misguided and heavy-handed and contradicted scientific evidence showing masks do not prevent the spread of the disease.
The year-long mask mandate was set to expire on March 18 but the Biden administration extended it by a month despite a downward trend in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations and higher rates of immunity through vaccination and recovery from the virus.
Mask mandates have been lifted in most places throughout the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lifted the mask requirement for school buses in February but continues to require them on other forms of public transportation.
The CDC said public transportation presents a unique risk for contracting the virus.
“Traveling on public transportation increases a person’s risk of getting and spreading COVID-19 by bringing people in close contact with others, often for prolonged periods, and exposing them to frequently touched surfaces,” CDC officials concluded in justifying the requirement. “Travel contributes to interstate and international spread of COVID-19. Wearing masks that completely cover the mouth and nose reduces the spread of COVID-19.”
Airline workers and passengers are increasingly frustrated with the requirement. The nation’s airline executives sent a letter to President Biden last week, seeking an end to the mandate.
In the letter, the executives asked the Biden administration to “recognize the burden,” on the airlines tasked with enforcing the increasingly unpopular mandate and noted the contradiction with lifted mask mandates everywhere else.
The letter was signed by 11 airline CEOs, including Robin Hayes of JetBlue, Gary Kelly of Southwest, and American Airlines Chairman W. Douglas Parker.
“It makes no sense that people are still required to wear masks on airplanes, yet are allowed to congregate in crowded restaurants, schools, and sporting events without masks, despite none of these venues having the protective air filtration systems that aircraft do,” they wrote to Mr. Biden.
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In addition to Florida, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia are suing to lift the mandate.
For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
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