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An American judge having declared illegal the federal obligation to wear a sanitary mask in all public transport in the country, certain airlines were quick to react and to lighten their sanitary measures.
American Airlines announced this Monday, April 18: wearing a mask is no longer mandatory for staff and passengers on domestic flights. Same thing for Delta or United Airlines. But all the companies clarified that wearing a mask was still strongly recommended by the health authorities, despite the judge’s decision.
Several weeks of legal battle
According to magistrate Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, appointed by former President Donald Trump, the federal health agency exceeded its prerogatives by imposing the obligation of this barrier gesture. The Tampa judge made this decision after several weeks of legal battle. The White House, under pressure to relax health measures, has indicated that it does not share this opinion.
Covid-19 contamination on the rise
About 20 Republican-led states and several major airlines have been calling for an end to this measure on public transportation for some time now. But the government wanted to maintain it for a few more weeks, because cases of Covid-19 contamination are on the rise, especially in the northeast of the country.
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