TSA extends travel mask mandate through April 18

The Transportation Security Administration is extending the current mandate for mask use on public transportation and in transportation hubs through April 18.

The mandate had been set to expire on March 18.

The extension is based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a statement, the CDC said that it would work on a "revised policy framework for when, and under what circumstances, masks should be required in the public transportation corridor."

Like recent guidance regarding masks in other settings, the CDC says any revision will be based on the levels of COVID-19 at the community level, as well as on the risk of new variants, national data and the latest science.

The agency left the door open to an earlier termination of the policy, should the science support that. [Copyright 2022 NPR]