WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration will extend the nationwide mask requirement for public transit and air travel as it monitors an uptick in COVID-19 cases.
The Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) order was set to expire on April 18. It will now be extended by two weeks to monitor for any increase in severe virus outcomes as cases rise in parts of the country.
The move was being made out of an abundance of caution, according to a person familiar with the decision who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the CDC’s action.
The administration had been hoping to roll out a more flexible masking strategy this week that would have replaced the nationwide requirement.
The U.S. is now averaging about 30,000 cases a day, the CDC reports. That's a slight increase from previous weeks. Hospitalizations rates have not changed much in recent weeks, according to CDC data.