Mask mandates are going to change and people should choose whether they want to wear a mask or not.
As of April 18th, the TSA “will not enforce Covid mask mandate on planes or public transit after a court ruling,” the white house says. The CDC decided; however, last week that they will be keeping the federal requirements for public transportation until May 3, according to CNBC.
Currently, U.S. airlines are lifting traveler’s mask requirements now making it an optional choice. These airlines include: Southwest, Delta, United, and American said masks are now optional according to the National Public Radio. Other airlines are now saying that it is optional for domestic flights; however, they are encouraged to wear masks in a transportation setting. It is still unclear whether this will stand true for international flights. This will probably impact the number of travelers for a while due to people feeling unsafe around others who aren’t wearing masks. It is tough to say if it will be a significant number or not but this does affect people who are extra cautious. It is an unsettling feeling having to travel around people coming from different places with no mask on. Most likely, it is going to take some time for people to start getting used to that or to simply not fly if it makes them feel uncomfortable. Health is not something that should ever be overlooked and it’s important to wear a mask in spaces that are close but it’s all about how each individual feels and it’s good they get to choose if they want to wear one or not.
It has been a couple of years now with the virus COVID-19 being around and it has impacted everyone’s lives. Now that cases have been dropping it would make sense to start lifting certain requirements in regards to the virus. Such as not being required to wear masks in restaurants which have been lifted for a while and now domestic flights. To some people, this has made it difficult because they are still hesitant of others who aren’t wearing masks. Some would say that it would be better to hold out the requirements of keeping masks on until the end of the year especially when it comes to school. It is important that the requirements for masks at school hold out and continue to the end of the year.
It is understandable that people have certain expectations taking an in-person class this semester and expected that everyone would still be required to wear their masks. Luckily, Mesa College still has this requirement and the semester is about to end in three weeks. So now if this is lifted in the upcoming school year, people will know what to expect. The best part about it is that it would be optional so it would be accommodating to everyone. This goes for transportation as well, if they aren’t comfortable with other people not wearing masks in the airport they shouldn’t fly. It has been such a long time and cases have dropped significantly to the point where it does make sense for there to be some change of requirement. That is why they are making it an optional choice. At the same time, it’s important to look out for yourself and to still be careful and cautious as this is still a serious virus.
These statistics that were found on Healthline were comforting; “The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations declined again this past week in the United States as new cases continue to fall. COVID-19 hospitalizations nationwide are now sitting at 30,000, about 7,000 fewer than a week ago.”
Also according to CDC figures, “the average number of new COVID-19 cases has dropped to 40,000 a day, almost 30,000 fewer than it was a week ago. The total number of new COVID-19 cases for the week that ended March 6 was listed at 347,282, a decrease of 22 percent from the previous week.” It is exciting to hear that cases are dropping and slowly starting to get better. Of course, things are always subject to change, but in hopes that cases will continue to decrease!
It would be ideal, and in the best case scenario, that this virus would just turn into a virus that is like the flu. The flu eventually turned into a regular sickness people began to become immune to and some get their annual flu shots.
Looking in the most positive outlook, history does seem to repeat itself so hopefully, that will be the case.
