The US Senate voted 57-40 Tuesday to revoke the transit mask mandate after last week’s announcement to extend the COVID-19 mask requirements in airplanes and public transport till April 18.
President Joe Biden was quick to announce a veto threat.The pandemic till date has killed more than 963,000 Americans, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics.
Opposing the mandate, Republicans cited the CDC report that states 98% of the population live in safe environments to discard their masks.
With airlines and other transit modes in support of dropping the mask mandate, it is a risk considering the recent COVID 19 lockdown in China and the fact that the country might be facing a new variant.
President Joe Biden said he would refuse permission for the vote, with the White House stating, “the determination of the timeline and circumstances under which masks should be required in these settings should be guided by science, not politics.”
