The US Department of Justice announced on Tuesday that it will wait to receive further instructions from the health authorities to decide whether to appeal a court ruling that annulled the order to wear a mask on public transport in the country.
In a statement, the Justice Department said it will only appeal a federal judge’s decision in Florida if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) concludes that the mandate to wear face masks on planes, trains, buses and other forms of public transportation remains “necessary for public health.”
This Monday, Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, nominated by former President Donald Trump for a federal court in Tampa, Florida, considered that the CDC had “exceeded their legal authority” by ordering the use of masks.
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As a result, U.S. authorities and airlines immediately stopped requiring face coverings to be worn on planes and other forms of public transportation, as well as at airports and stations.
The CDC continues to recommend “that people continue to wear masks in related indoor settings such as public transportation,” but can no longer enforce it, according to the White House.
This public health agency had extended on April 13 and for two more weeks, until May 3, the mandatory use of masks in all public transport networks, due to the resurgence of the covid-19 pandemic caused by the subvariant BA.2.
The Justice Department made it clear Tuesday that it disagrees with the Florida judge’s decision and that the CDC disagrees, but it ruled out an immediate appeal to try to get a higher court to restore the mask mandate.
Instead, the Justice Department said it will wait for the CDC to complete an “assessment” it is making of “current public health conditions” before appealing.
When they extended the mask mandate until May 3, the CDC explained that they needed that time to see if that order was still important to contain the pandemic in the country, and that if they concluded that it was no longer necessary, they would end it after that term.
American judge annuls the obligation to wear masks on public transport
The Department of Justice indicated that if, after this evolution, the CDC “concludes that a mandatory order is still necessary for public health”, the US government “will appeal the decision” of the Florida judge.
He added that he considers that mandate to be “a valid exercise of the authority that Congress has given to the CDC to protect public health,” but left the possibility of fighting to save the mandate in the hands of that agency.
Some supporters of the mask mandate warned that appealing the judge’s decision could backfire, because higher courts have conservative majorities and could issue rulings that constrain the CDC’s authority in the future.
“It’s tempting to appeal, because this decision is ridiculous, but we have to preserve the ability of the CDC to act in case we have a big outbreak of cases in the fall or winter,” said former White House adviser on covid-19, Andy Slavitt. , to The New York Times.
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, avoided talking this Tuesday about a possible appeal of the ruling and limited himself to indicating that it is the travelers who must decide whether or not to wear a mask on public transport. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
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