face masks
CDC concludes a mask mandate is still needed for travelers, clearing way for court battle
The Biden administration will fight a court decision for the authority to mandate masks on airplanes, trains and other public transit, following a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation Wednesday night that a mandate was still needed. The CDC said in a statement that the mandate keeps transportation safer for immunocompromised people and the greater public. […]
Biden administration will appeal ruling on travel mask mandate — if CDC says it’s needed
The Biden administration will appeal a federal judge’s order striking down a mask mandate for air travel and public transit, subject to a decision by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Justice Department said in a Tuesday night statement. The CDC has yet to conclude that the mandate — which applied in […]
Federal judge in Florida throws out national mask mandate for travelers
A federal judge in Florida voided the nationwide mask mandate for airline and public transportation passengers Monday, saying the requirement was beyond the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s authority. A Biden administration official said that agencies are reviewing the decision and potential next steps. “In the meantime, today’s court decision means CDC’s public transportation […]
Republicans in Congress file suit to end mask mandate for air travel
Seventeen Republican members of Congress including Warren Davidson of Ohio have sued the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, seeking an end to the federal rule requiring passengers on commercial flights and in airports to wear masks. The mandate illegally restricts the lawmakers’ freedom and is not backed by legal authority, they said in the […]
New CDC guidance relaxes indoor public masking in a majority of U.S. counties
WASHINGTON — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday unveiled updated guidance for wearing masks indoors in public places, a move that means 70% of Americans likely will be able to ditch their masks. The new guidance will divvy counties into low, medium or high transmission categories based on new hospitalizations for COVID-19, […]
CDC to update federal masking guidance in coming weeks
WASHINGTON — The federal government will likely update its guidance on masking and other COVID-19 mitigation efforts in the coming weeks as the omicron surge continues to wane, U.S. public health officials indicated Wednesday. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said at a White House briefing that the agency will continue looking […]
CDC preps guidance for governors on relaxing COVID rules, but states forge ahead
WASHINGTON — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is preparing guidance for governors about when to relax masking and other measures meant to slow the spread of COVID-19, but doesn’t want to release those instructions just yet. Director Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday that it’s too soon to begin rolling back masking and other public […]
Legislatures across country back off pandemic protocols
As Dr. Jennifer Bacani McKenney walked the halls of the Kansas Statehouse on opening day of the legislative session this month, she was taken aback by what she saw. In the hallways, where “people are chatting and hugging and all that stuff, there were probably less than half of the people wearing masks … You definitely wouldn’t […]
Some politicians deliberately sacrifice public health and safety for personal greed
Whether driven to hang on to power, have access to money, or intoxicated by fame — when politicians say and do things that hurt and harm the people for their personal gain, it is greed of the most grievous kind. Greed? Yes, greed. Greed has many faces and is manifested in many ways. Whatever form of greed […]
Children are dying for Republican ‘freedom’
Apparently, the bodies of sick or dead children are not a motivator for today’s Republicans. Then again, when were they? When 20 children were gunned down at Sandy Hook elementary school in 2012, Republicans didn’t fight to end gun violence — they doubled down on unfettered gun access. When scientists warned decades ago that generations […]
School or ‘Russian roulette’? Amid variants and lax mask rules, some parents see no difference
By Rae Ellen Bichell, Kaiser Health News The child had just started kindergarten. Or, as her mother called it, “Russian roulette.” That’s because her school district in Grand Junction, Colorado, experienced one of the nation’s first delta-variant outbreaks last spring, and now school officials have loosened the rules meant to protect against covid-19. The mother, […]
Biden faces down GOP governors on school mask bans
WASHINGTON — With eight states so far prohibiting schools from levying mask requirements, President Joe Biden is pledging that his administration will use all of its oversight and legal authority to stick up for local officials trying to keep their schools safe. What remains to be seen is how far the federal government can or will […]