Removal of federal Covid mask orders confuses Americans

Earlier this week, courts overturned federal mask orders that apply to public transport like airplanes and trains. While the movement was met with applause, there was confusion with videos of cheering customers circulating on social media.

Carry-on mask orders are one of the latest Covid requirements many Americans face on a daily basis. The orders were set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at the federal level, forcing all locations to comply with them.

With these orders removed, Americans now only have to abide by local regulations; this can confuse someone who sees headlines saying masks are no longer needed and demands that it’s okay to wear masks in some places.

Some cities, such as New York, Philadelphia, and Boston, will require face masks in some places, even without federal orders. Meanwhile, some cities, such as Washington DC, have chosen to follow the federal government and withdraw orders with the CDC injunction lifted.

The mask order strike comes as Covid continues to retreat into the US. The number of cases held steady at 37,792 per day and fell 22% per day to 422 over the past seven days. The CDC also reports that only 0.5% of US states are considered “high” Covid risks.

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority decided this week to enforce mask orders that require Big Apple residents to still wear face masks on the subway, bus, and other means of transportation. City airports, JFK International and LaGuardia will also require masks at the facility.

However, nearby New Jersey airports have dropped orders.

Boston residents are also required to wear masks on public trains and buses. Even San Francisco’s famous BART system requires customers to wear masks.

Most medical facilities and nursing homes in America will also need face masks, although Reuters reports that some systems in the Midwest are reducing requirements.

In recent months, some colleges and universities have also restored the masks. Four schools in the Washington DC area—American University, George Washington University, Georgetown University, and Johns Hopkins University—reintroduced some form of mask requirement to combat the rise in cases on campus.

Also in New York, Columbia University is requiring students to wear masks in class after a series of incidents occurred on campus earlier this month.

The powers of the masks also returned to Philadelphia.

Since Monday, the City of Brotherly Love has brought back the masking mandate for all enclosed public spaces such as schools, businesses, restaurants and government buildings.

The number of cases in the city increased by 140 percent in the last two weeks to 273 per day. Although growth is widespread, cases are still relatively low compared to the peaks reached during the peak of the winter wave fueled by the Omicron variant.

Private companies across the country are also free to fulfill their own mask obligations, except where expressly prohibited.

The change comes when a new version of the Omicron variant and potentially a new threat emerges across the country during the pandemic.

On Tuesday, the CDC included variant BA.2.12.1 in its NOCAST for the first time, with the strain accounting for 19 percent of consecutive cases in the Americas. The subspecies belongs to the BA.2 species, which is itself a subspecies of the Omicron variant.

Omicron’s strain BA.2.12.1 (red) is now considered a separate threat by the CDC, accounting for 19% of consecutive COVID-19 cases, according to the agency’s latest update.

BA.2.12.1 (red) represents more than half of Covid cases in the New York and New Jersey area, the only place in the country where it has detected the latent variant as the predominant strain. It was also discovered in New York last week.

Little is known about this version of the virus, although it is believed to have a 27% growth advantage over the original version of BA.2, although there is no evidence that it is more severe than its predecessor.

This is now the third variant of Omicron that has been separately classified by medics, accounting for 100% of all sequential cases in the United States, a phenomenon not seen in previous versions of the virus.

The BA.2.12.1 variant was first discovered by authorities in New York last week. The CDC reports that the strain is now dominant in the region, which includes neighboring New Jersey, accounting for 52.3 percent of cases.

Since the variant’s discovery, Covid cases have started to rise in New York, with a 66% jump in the past two weeks.

New York City is also seeing gains, with daily numbers up nearly 50% over the past 14 days.

The CDC designated region that includes New Jersey and New York is the only region in the Americas where BA.2.12.1 is the dominant species.