Masks will be mandatory on transportation across the United States from Tuesday, the country’s leading federal public health agency said.
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This measure, which follows a promise from Joe Biden, will apply in planes, buses, trains, taxis or ferries, said the Centers for the prevention and fight against diseases (CDC) in a document issued on Friday. evening.
Passengers as well as members of staff on board “must wear a mask that covers both their nose and their mouth when waiting, boarding, or traveling in public transport”, it is stipulated.
Failure to comply with this measure, which will take effect Monday at 11:59 p.m. local time, will be considered a violation of federal law.
Surgical or fabric masks, purchased or homemade, reusable or single use, are accepted. They may be temporarily removed to eat or take medication (but only for “short periods”) or to verify a person’s identity.
However, scarves, bandanas, or T-shirts pulled to cover the nose and mouth are not allowed, the CDC said.
In the United States, restrictions and measures against the pandemic are largely taken at the local level.
But the 46th American president has, since his inauguration on January 20, issued an executive order to make compulsory where he has the authority, as in federal buildings, the wearing of the mask that his predecessor Donald Trump had only endorsed. backwards.
Joe Biden also urged all Americans to wear a mask wherever they are during the first 100 days of his tenure.
The United States has nearly 26 million documented cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, and deplores more than 437,000 deaths from the disease.