WASHINGTON — More transit agencies have dropped their requirement for riders to wear masks, but the Biden Administration has announced it will appeal the judge’s ruling that struck down the federal mask mandate for public transportation.
Among the latest agencies to end a mask rule are several in the San Francisco Bay Area. Bay Area Rapid Transit said Wednesday afternoon that masks are now optional but “strongly encouraged.” The agency did announce on Twitter that its board would consider a proposal to require masks at its April 28 meeting. Commuter rail operator Caltrain made a similar decision after initially maintaining its mask requirement, while the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, operator of Muni light rail and buses, said it would lift the rule as of 12:01 a.m. today (Thursday, April 21).
Portland, Ore., transit agency TriMet, which initially retained a mask rule, also dropped its requirement on Wednesday, the Oregonian reports. And the Connecticut Department of Transportation dropped mask rules for its CTrail Hartford Line and Shore Line east commuter rail service, as well as buses, the Norwich Bulletin reports. Metro-North operations in the state still require masks because of a New York state mandate.
CBS News reports the U.S. Justice Department has filed an appeal of Monday’s ruling by U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, which declared the mask requirement unlawful. The appeal came in response to a statement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which said the mandate “remains necessary for the public health.” The administration had indicated it would appeal the ruling only if the CDC felt the rule was still needed.
As long as thetre are no more “mean tweets,” the country can do down the toilet – which is where it’s going.
ABA is not unbiased in its decisions on judges. One thing they look at that the general public is not aware of is they won’t endorse anyone who they believe might want to rein in the extremes of our current civil law suit environment. They also don’t like young appointees (of which this particular judge was one) if they don’t have a fairly long judicial record.
Bar Association said the Judge that issued the order was unqualified to be a Judge before #45 gave her a Federal Bench. I’ll listen to science.
ABA doesn’t pick judges, the president does.
Her ruling was based on the law (or the lack of law, as she saw it), not science. If science supports masks, the US Government has had 30 months to go to Congress to pass an actual law. Which Congress hasn’t, and won’t.
Science:
The virus particles are smaller than the openings in the mask material, so 50% effectiveness if Covid is even around.
Overall survival rate is 99.7%.
Inexpensive drugs combined with zinc cure it.
Masks inhibit proper breathing, communication, and social interaction. They damage children’s social development.
Most of the agencies which initially kept the mask rule locally (like Chicago Metra and others as above) have folded.
I think the Easter Bunny Government showed its true stupidity with the 2-week extension. For or against masks, most people are intelligent enough to know that no disease comes in two-week tranches. That’s not disease control, that’s mindless bureaucracy. Which is what we’ve lived under for two years.