On Tuesday, President Joe Biden did the unthinkable and responded to a question about wearing masks on planes with common sense.
“Mr. Should people continue to wear masks on planes, Mr. President? “, inquired the reporter.
Biden added, “That’s up to them.”
That is all there is to it. With one simple remark, all of the flight attendant confrontations, unhappy customers forced to wear masks against their will, fighting and fussing, legal battles, and media squabbling over mask efficacy might have been averted.
For almost a year, Americans in red states like Florida have gone without masks, with no discernible difference from mask-obsessed states like California and New York. Furthermore, for practically the entire duration of the pandemic, people have been eating in restaurants without masks, often in close proximity to others. Many of the anticipated super-spreader incidents that followed sporting events attended by tens of thousands of maskless fans turned out to be over-hyped.
While on board Air Force One on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki expressed her displeasure with the court’s decision to overturn the CDC’s travel mask rule and hinted that the Biden administration would yet file an appeal.
Psaki was also questioned if the Biden administration plans to challenge the decision of the federal court.
“We have said from the start that our Covid response should be guided by the science and data and by experts,” she added. “And just as a reminder, when we made this announcement, the CDC said it needed 15 days to assess the impacts of an uptick in cases on hospitalizations, deaths, and hospital capacity.”
In reaction to a federal court in Florida throwing down the national mask rule for flights and other public transportation, the Biden administration issued a statement on Monday.
The authorities are examining the decision and determining possible next steps, according to the statement. Meanwhile, according to today’s court judgment, the CDC’s public transit masking order is no longer in effect. As a result, TSA’s Security Directives and Emergency Amendment requiring mask wear on public transportation and transportation hubs will not be enforced at this time. In indoor public transit situations, the CDC recommends that persons continue to wear masks.
There is little evidence that mask mandates for the general public have resulted in a reduction in global case rates. This was true before Covid-19, and it is still true today. That is exactly what the science says.
Passengers on a Delta Airlines flight got a surprise on their way to Los Angeles on Monday – the overturning of the national mask mandate for planes and public transit.
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) April 19, 2022
“People clapped, drinks are flowing, masks off,” the passenger who recorded the announcement wrote. pic.twitter.com/lvcTrcp5TM
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your pilot speaking. This is the most important announcement I’ve ever made. The federal mask mandate is over. Take off your mask if you choose!” ~ Alaska Airlines. pic.twitter.com/Rb8bjlDJLs
— Real Mac Report (@RealMacReport) April 18, 2022
Flight attendant just announced no masks on our @Allegiant flight. We are about to leave Orlando. Many people clapping. pic.twitter.com/CnCYONf1YE
— Dave Bondy (@DaveBondyTV) April 19, 2022
Last week the CDC updated its policy tracker for public mask mandates noting whether or not a county had a mask mandate in place on a given day. From there we can map the “official” COVID-19 cases per 100K. Here’s the Omicron wave. Mask mandates do not work. pic.twitter.com/XN79ZsZ6rz
— Justin Hart (@justin_hart) April 12, 2022
