The US will stop enforcing a mask requirement for passengers on public transport, after a US judge ruled the mandate unlawful just days after it was extended in an effort to quell a recent rise in Covid-19 cases.
Biden administration officials on Monday said the rule would not be in effect while White House decides whether to appeal against the ruling from Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, who was appointed by former president Donald Trump.
It is the latest in a series of decisions by conservative judges against the administration’s Covid mitigation policies. Mizelle said in her ruling that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had exceeded its legal authority with the mandate, improperly skipped the public notice and comment period and failed to offer a sufficient explanation for doing so.