The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
Bloomberg
US transportation and health agencies are extending the mask mandate for air passengers and other travellers until mid-January as the Delta variant of Covid-19 continues to surge.
The sometimes controversial requirement for people to cover their faces on public forms of transportation had been set to expire on September 13. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said in an emailed statement it intends to extend that until January 18.
Infections of Covid-19 driven by the delta variant have grown to levels not seen since last winter, which has prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to call for greater mask usage and other measures to stem
the surge.
The TSA had extended an earlier mask mandate last April. The agency’s order includes people at airports and on airliners, as well as those traveling on buses and rail systems.
Masks have been a lightning rod for controversy in travel situations, driving a huge surge in unruly airline passenger incidents, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Out of the 3,889 reports of misbehaving passengers this year, 2,867 or almost three out of four involved disputes over masks, the FAA said.