On 17JAN 2023, the U.S. Justice Department asked an appeals court to reverse the ruling which declared travel mask mandates unlawful, reports Skift.
As previously reported by Open Jaw, on 18APR 2022, a federal judge in Florida issued a ruling that the CDC’s directive requiring masks on public transportation was unlawful and exceeded its legal mandate. At the time, the Biden administration had no plans to challenge the ruling. The CDC first implemented the mask mandate in JAN 2021.
However, the move comes as World Health Organization (WHO) officials said on 10JAN that countries should consider recommending passengers wear masks on long-haul flights due to the rise of the latest COVID-19 Omicron subvariant.
Also in JAN 2023, the European Union recommended face masks for passengers flying to its member countries from China, which is experiencing a major COVID-19 outbreak after lifting its zero-COVID policy, reports Skift.
As reported by Open Jaw, Canada's mask mandate was removed on 01OCT 2022. At the time of writing, there has been no indication that the Ottawa will seek to re-implement the mandate.
