Mask Mandate Stopped For GA Transit; Hartsfield, MARTA Affected
GEORGIA — A federal judge in Florida overturned Monday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's national mask mandate for all forms of public transportation, including planes, trains and ferries — a nationwide decision that seems destined to affect Georgia travelers.
This affects passengers who use Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, along with passengers on Atlanta's MARTA system, Gwinnett County Transit, CobbLinc, Athens Clark County Transit and Macon-Bibb Transit, among others.
The CDC recently extended the mandate another 15 days through May 3, because of the spread of the omicron B.A. 2 subvariant. The order went into effect Feb. 1, 2021.
U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle said the CDC's order exceeds the agency's statutory authority, according to CNBC.
"The court concludes that the mask mandate exceeds the CDC's statutory authority and violates the procedures required for agency rulemaking under the APA," the judge wrote, CBS News reported. "Accordingly, the court vacates the mandate and remands it to the CDC."
The Biden administration has not said if it plans to appeal the ruling.
Until Monday's ruling, people nationwide were required to wear masks in public transportation hubs like airports and bus stations as well as in taxis, airplanes, ride-share vehicles, ships, ferries, trains and subways.
In response the Transportation Security Administration said, due to the court ruling, effective immediately, TSA will no longer enforce its directive requiring mask use on public transportation and transportation hubs.
"CDC continues to recommend that people wear masks in indoor public transportation settings at this time," the TSA statement said.
According to its website, MARTA currently:
thoroughly cleans all buses, trains, rail stations and facilities, with a focus on high-touch areas
conducts mid-day end-of-line cleaning of some buses
has instructed its employees how best to protect themselves and others from COVID-19.
Most mask mandates throughout Georgia have already been lifted. In schools, masking is now only recommended in counties with a high risk of infection, according to the CDC.
As of Feb. 25, the CDC no longer required masks on school buses. This includes vans and buses operated by both public and private school systems, as well as early care and child care programs.
Cases nationwide soared in late January as the omicron variant of the coronavirus swept through Georgia and other states. On Jan. 14 the New York Times COVID tracker recorded over 804,000 cases of the virus across the country. On Sunday the national case count was just over 34,000.
In Georgia, 547 COVID-19 cases were noted on Monday, a drop of 48 percent in the last 14 days, the Times reported.
There are 550 patients hospitalized in Georgia with COVID, a decrease of 13 percent over the last two weeks. The state is averaging 25.1 deaths from COVID per day, the Times said.
In her 59-page ruling, Mizelle said the only remedy was to vacate the rule entirely because it would be impossible to end it for the limited group of people who objected to it in the lawsuit.
The judge said "a limited remedy would be no remedy at all" and that the courts have full authority to make a decision such as this — even if the goals of the CDC in fighting the virus are laudable, the Associated Press reported.
"Because our system does not permit agencies to act unlawfully even in pursuit of desirable ends, the court declares unlawful and vacates the mask mandate," she wrote.
She also said that the CDC didn't offer justification for the extension of its mask mandate and didn't follow proper procedure in doing so, according to Fortune.
Mizelle, who has served in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida since Sept. 8, 2020, was nominated to the seat by former President Donald Trump.
This story includes reporting by the Associated Press. This report will be updated.
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This article originally appeared on the Across Georgia Patch
