mask mandate

North Carolina lawmakers approve mask bill that allows health exemption after pushback

8:01am June 12, 2024

A reworked version of a bill that originally caught flak for removing a pandemic-era health exemption for wearing a mask in public has been approved by North Carolina lawmakers.

A face mask sign is displayed in a window in Queens, New York City on May 11, the day the federal public health emergency for COVID ended.

As U.S. COVID hospitalizations rise, some places are bringing mask mandates back

2:48pm August 31, 2023

by Rachel Treisman

New COVID variants are fueling hospitalizations and prompting some schools and hospitals to reinstate mask mandates. Others are considering or ruling out the possibility, leaving it up to individuals.

Queue Listen Now

A screenshot of Jon Levy on a Zoom call.

Health & Safety

This photo of a professor wearing a mask went viral. So did his response to critics

11:05am May 26, 2022

Professor Jon Levy went viral for wearing a mask during a Zoom call alone in his office. He has some thoughts about why.

Queue Listen Now

Masks are just one protective measure for these airline passengers arriving in Shanghai from Paris.

The mask mandate is off for U.S. travelers. In other countries it's definitely on

6:05pm April 22, 2022

by Kamala Thiagarajan

In China, for example, not only are masks required on planes but gloves are recommended — and passengers are urged not to touch their face during the flight. Here's what you'll find around the globe.

Mask mandates on public transportation are no longer in effect following a ruling by federal judge on Monday. The federal government says it will appeal the ruling but is taking its time doing so.

Health & Safety

Why the government's slow move to appeal the mask decision may be a legal strategy

2:53pm April 22, 2022

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

One law professor has a theory about the Justice Department's slow response — and it all goes back to a case involving "heavy knitted underwear" from the 1940s.

If a passenger is infected with the coronavirus and not wearing a mask, people sitting within two to three rows of them are at higher risk of infection.

Here's why you might still want to wear masks on public transport

10:33am April 22, 2022

Sure, you don't have to wear a mask on airplanes, buses and ride shares anymore, but you still might want to depending on the circumstances. Here's what experts say about the risks.

Airline passengers, some not wearing face masks following the end of the federal mask mandate, sit during a American Airlines flight operated by SkyWest Airlines from Los Angeles International Airport to Denver, on Tuesday.

The judge who tossed mask mandate misunderstood public health law, legal experts say

6:23pm April 19, 2022

Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle's decision hinged on a definition of the word 'sanitation' that public health experts and legal scholars say missed the mark.

Travelers will need to continue to wear protective face masks at airports, on planes, trains, buses and transit hubs, as the CDC is extending the mask requirement for travelers.

CDC extends transportation mask mandate until May 3

7:10pm April 13, 2022

The Biden administration will continue to require travelers to wear masks on planes and other forms of public transport,.

Queue Listen Now

A sign requiring masks as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus is taped on a storefront in Philadelphia on Feb. 16.

Philadelphia to reinstate its mask mandate after a rise in COVID cases

8:10pm April 11, 2022

by Jaclyn Diaz

The city will require masks in schools, businesses, government buildings and restaurants starting April 18.

People travel through the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. Governors from 21 states are suing to end the federal mask mandate for public transportation.

21 states sue the Biden administration to end the federal travel mask mandate

4:17pm March 29, 2022

by Jaclyn Diaz

The states are suing to end the public transportation mandate, claiming the continued enforcement "harms the states" and interferes with local laws. The mandate is in place at least through April 18.