President Joe Biden on Thursday signed an executive order making face masks mandatory for air travel and other modes of commercial transportation.
“We will sign an additional executive action to expand the masking requirements for interstate travel, such as with trains, planes and buses,” Biden said in a televised speech he gave on his first day in office.
PRESIDENT MESSENGER WHO IS EXPECTED TO MAND MASKS ON FLIGHTS, IN AIRLINES AS PART OF EXECUTIVE ORDER
Shortly after Biden was sworn in as president on January 20, he signed an executive action that made masks and social distance mandatory on federal property.
Biden’s executive orders come almost a year after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a global pandemic.
More than 24.5 million Americans were infected with the new coronavirus, while more than 409,100 Americans lost their lives to the respiratory disease, according to data from the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Dashboard.
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For this reason, Biden encouraged citizens to ‘hide’ for the next 100 days while federal and state governments work to make vaccines available.
Airlines have already required customers to wear face masks or blankets while boarding a flight or waiting at airport terminals, but President Donald Trump has not issued an executive mandate for the PPE.
On January 13, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a statement on its compliance and enforcement program that imposes civil fines on passengers who refuse to wear masks, follow the instructions of flight attendants or engage in disruptive behavior.
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Several aviation trade organizations have since issued messages about the mandatory face masks of the FAA and Biden.
The Association of Flight Attendant-CWA is one of the latest to publicly praise the head of state’s decision.
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President Joe Biden has made face masks on planes, trains and buses mandatory through an executive action he signed on Thursday, January 21st. (IStock)
“We welcome President Biden’s nationwide approach to destroying the virus and rescuing us from this pandemic,” AFA President Sara Nelson said in a statement. “Today’s executive action on a mask mandate for interstate travel, including airports and aircraft, will provide the necessary backing for air hostess and frontline aviation workers. safety measure in our workspace where proper social distance is not an option. ‘
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In addition, Biden’s executive action makes coronavirus testing mandatory for people traveling to the US
International travelers will have to test negative before boarding their flight, and must be quarantined when entering the country. Biden explained that this mandate is intended to protect Americans from the new COVID variants found around the world.
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Fox News’ Michael Bartiromo contributed to this report.