Public transportation mask mandate extended

The requirement to wear a mask on planes, buses, trains, and inside transit facilities was set to expire March 18, but a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official said that the agency will extend it by a month while creating new policies. The Transportation Security Administration enforces the masking mandates and can fine noncompliant travelers $500 to $3,000.

What will the new policy be? The CDC recently released new COVID-19 community levels metrics, which show more than 90 percent of the U.S. population lives in areas with low or medium coronavirus transmission. As of March 3, the agency no longer recommends masking indoors, though state and local governments can still enforce their own rules. The official said the CDC is working on a “revised policy framework” in light of declining infection rates and severity.

Dig deeper: Listen to Kent Covington report on waning COVID-19 cases and fears on The World and Everything in It podcast.