NBC: White House may extend mask mandate for planes and public transit, Covid czar says

It is looking likely that the Biden administration will extend the mask mandate for public transport such as planes, buses, trains, airports, and any transit hub. The mandate was to end on April 18. The masking requirement was first put in place in February 2021 and since then has been extended multiple times. The possibility of an extension comes in response to the spread of the BA.2 Omicron subvariant in recent weeks which is more infectious than the original BA.1. BA.2 now accounts for 72% of COVID-19 cases and has caused cases to increase by 6% over the last 2 weeks. The Biden administration has faced criticism and even lawsuits from attorney generals of 21 different states over the mandate being nationwide and not left up to the states to enforce their own mandates. The full article by Aria Bendix can be read here on NBC. For more on COVID-19 click here.