CDC orders masks worn on public transportation
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an order requiring travelers to wear masks on public transportation in the U.S., echoing an executive order by President Joe Biden shortly after he took office.
The CDC order takes effect Monday. It states that passengers on airplanes, trains, buses, subways, ships, ferries, taxis and ride-shares must wear a mask that covers their nose and mouth while getting on such vehicles, during the ride and while getting off.
Additionally, people must wear masks on the premises of transportation hubs such as airports, train and subway stations, bus and ferry terminals, seaports and ports of entry. Masks must stay on while awaiting to board, travel and disembark public transportation.
Biden’s executive order issued Jan. 21 mandated masks on certain modes of public transportation such as commercial aircraft, trains and ferries. Biden also mandated masks on federal property.
The CDC order prompts drivers, conductors and crew members to transport only people who are wearing masks. In other developments:
A Massachusetts congressman who had received both doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine tested positive for COVID-19. The office of U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch said Lynch’s positive test result came after a staff member in his Boston office tested positive last week. Lynch isn’t displaying any symptoms of COVID-19. He will self-quarantine and vote by proxy in Congress in the coming week.
In Connecticut, a shortage in the COVID-19 vaccine prompted UConn Health to cancel first-dose vaccinations for the next week. No new appointments for first doses are being scheduled.
The Navy announced that about a dozen personnel assigned to a Pearl Harbor destroyer, now in San Diego, tested positive for COVID-19 and were removed from the ship. Cmdr. Sean Robertson said crew members aboard the USS Chafee who were in close contact with the infected sailors are also off the ship and in quarantine while monitoring symptoms, the Honolulu StarAdvertiser reported. None of the sailors was hospitalized.
The British government said it does not expect any disruptions to its orders for coronavirus vaccines after the European Union emphasized it would not trigger an emergency provision of the Brexit deal as part of its strategy to monitor export of doses produced in the EU. Cabinet Minister Michael Gove said the government expects the vaccines to be supplied as planned after the EU addressed the “mistake” in its proposal to tighten export rules for COVID-19 vaccines produced in the 27 member nations.
Germany said drugmakers will deliver at least 5 million doses of coronavirus vaccines to the country in the next three weeks. The Health Ministry said on Twitter that Germany has already received 3.5 million doses in the past five weeks and administered 2.2 million shots.