The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a successful order last month requiring all passengers and staff to wear masks on all forms of public and commercial transport in the United States, but this was blocked by the White House, two federal health officials said.
The order would be the toughest federal mandate ever to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which infects more than 40,000 Americans a day. Officials said it was framed under the agency’s “quarantine powers” and included Secretary of Health and Human Services, Alex M. Azar II was supported, but the White House Coronavirus Task Force, led by Vice President Mike Pence, also refused to discuss it.
Both officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment, said the order covered faces at airports, trains, buses and subways and at transport centers such as airports, train stations and bus depots. Will need to take.
A task force official said the decision on the need for masks should be left to the states and territories. The administration needs a task force to sign coronavirus-related policies.
“The approach that the task force has taken with any mask order is that the response in New York City is different from that in Montana or Tuscaloosa, Alabama,” the official said, adding that he was not allowed to discuss the issue. . “Local and state authorities need to determine the best approach to their responsive efforts based on how the coronavirus affects their territory.”
Most public health officials believe that wearing a mask is one of the most effective ways to protect against the spread of the virus, especially in crowded, poorly ventilated public spaces that attract people from all around, such as transportation. Many feel that the Trump administration has worn masks – not wearing them – and turned them into political expressions, as seen most dramatically on Monday evening when President Trump whipped his surgical mask at the door of the White House, where he returned from the hospital. . Treatment for Covid-19.
“I think the mask is the most powerful weapon we have to face Kovid and we all need to embrace the mask and set an example for each other,” said Dr. A.S. Robert R. Said Redfield. In a recent interview.
Red. Redfield, to promote the wearing of masks with social distance, and publicly disagree with President Trump to warn that the vaccine for the virus will not be widely available until next year.
Failing the mask rule is the latest in a number of CDC actions suspended or changed by the White House. Late last month, the Coronavirus Task Force revoked the CDC director’s order to dock cruise ships until mid-February. The plan was opposed by the tourism industry in Florida, a key swing state in the presidential election. Political appointments to the White House and the state’s Department of Health and Human Services have also been involved in bypassing the agency’s scientists and rewriting the agency’s guidelines on reopening schools and testing for the virus.
Some other members of the White House Task Force support the mask command. But others are not among them, Dr. Scott. Scott W. Atlas, who has become Mr. Trump’s closest adviser on the coronavirus, and Mr. Pence, who runs the panel and sets the agenda.
Representative Peter A. Defazio, a Democrat from Dem Reagan and chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, criticized Mr. Trump for ignoring public health experts from his own administration on the mask issue.
“It’s particularly offensive because science is so clear: the mask is safe living,” Mr Defazio said. “From bus and drivers, train conductors and flight attendants, to frontline workers who rely on public transportation – their president deserves to know that millions of Americans work and use our transportation systems every day – relying on the best advice from experts. And does everything possible to keep them safe. “
The Transportation Trades Department of AFL-CIO, which represents un 33 unions describing transport workers as “millions,” said the administration last week rejected a July request for its travel requirement to wear a mask on public transport.
The department’s president, Larry Willis, said its members were put at risk by face-to-face insignia on planes, trains and buses across the country, as well as by pieces of the rules at airports, train stations and bus depots.
“Some airports are everywhere and they need masks when you go to the door,” Mr Willis said. “In some places where masks have become too political, the right order is not in its place.”
“I think it creates an uncertain level of health and safety for workers and passengers.” “This is a global epidemic, this is a national crisis. We should have a national standard. “
Sarah Nelson, international president of the Association Flight Flight Attendants, said implementation can be difficult when airlines technically require passengers to wear face wear.
“If required by regulation or law, then it usually results in non-compliance with regulation or law,” Ms. Said Nelson. “So it supports us and it often acts as a deterrent to bad behavior.”
