Justice Dept. to appeal order voiding travel mask mandate
Apr 20, 2022, 4:23 PM | Updated: Jun 13, 2022, 3:35 pm
Travelers wearing masks walk around inside John F. Kennedy Airport on April 19, 2022 in New York City. On Monday, a federal judge in Florida struck down the mask mandate for airports and other methods of public transportation as a new COVID variant is on the rise across parts of the United States. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is filing an appeal seeking to overturn a judge’s order that voided the federal mask mandate on planes, trains and travel hubs, officials said Wednesday.
It came minutes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked the Justice Department to appeal the decision handed down by a federal judge in Florida earlier this week.
A notice of appeal was filed in federal court in Tampa.
The CDC said in a statement on Wednesday that it is its “continuing assessment that at this time an order requiring masking in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for the public health.”
The CDC said it will continue to monitor public health conditions to determine if a mandate would remain necessary. It said it believes the mandate is “a lawful order, well within CDC’s legal authority to protect public health.”
