Dr. Lucky Tran, a scientist and activist who co-organized the 2017 Science March, took the opposite position on the same platform.
“The CDC is extending the mandate of the public transport mask by two weeks,” he wrote. “That’s not enough. Millions rely on public transport every day to get to work or access basic services.”
In recent months, airlines and the hotel industry have lobbied the White House to repeal both the mask rule and the testing requirement before returning to the United States from abroad. In a recent letter dated April 8, Airlines for America, an industry group representing eight airlines; The American Tourism Association, a trade group representing more than 1,000 public and private organizations serving businesses and tourists; US Chamber of Commerce, the largest business lobby group in the country; and the American Hotel and Housing Association, which represents thousands of hotels, sent a letter to Dr. Ja, arguing that what they considered unnecessary measures harmed the country economically.
“While the public health benefits of these policies have diminished significantly, the economic costs of maintaining these measures are significant,” they wrote.
On Wednesday, shortly before the CDC announcement, Airlines for America sent another letter to Dr. Valenski, director of the CDC, demanding a detailed explanation of why masks are still needed on airplanes.
“If the mandate of the federal mask is extended, the administration must publish the data and science used to achieve this,” wrote Nicholas E. Calio, president of the group.
According to many accounts, enforcement is one of the most challenging aspects of the mask mandate, with many passengers verbally and even physically assaulting flight attendants, reminding them to cover their noses and mouths. Prior to the decision, the big unions, representing flight attendants and employees of the Transport Security Administration, the two groups that have to deal with the rule, refused to take a position.
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