After a federal judge in Florida struck down a national mask mandate Monday for public transportation and airlines, SEPTA and some airlines have stopped requiring masks on board, reports the Fox 29 News staff.
SEPTA tweeted that “the wearing of masks aboard SEPTA vehicles and in SEPTA stations & concourses is recommended but no longer required of customers or employees.”
Several airlines have also announced they would drop the mask mandates.
The change in policy comes on the same day as Philadelphia reinstated its indoor mask mandate requirement.
With the ruling, SEPTA operators are free to make their own decision about wearing a mask.
SEPTA spokesman Andrew Busch said SEPTA employees in offices, districts and shops in Philadelphia would continue wearing masks, in line with Philadelphia’s mask mandate.
Philadelphia’s decision to reinstate indoor masking is based on four rising COVID-19 metrics in the city—cases, hospitalizations, test positivity rates and the rate of increase in cases.
The CDC had extended its mask mandate until May 3 to study the BA.2 omicron subvariant of the coronavirus now causing the vast majority of U.S. cases.
Read more at Fox 29 News about a federal judge’s decision to end mask mandates on public transit and airlines.
