Hawaii to lift last US state mask mandate by March 26
2 years, 9 months ago

Hawaii to lift last US state mask mandate by March 26

Associated Press  

HONOLULU — The last statewide mask mandate in the U.S. will be lifted by March 26, Hawaii Gov. Ige, a Democrat, said Hawaii’s culture of caring for others, especially kupuna, or older people in Hawaiian, helped the state tolerate the mask rule for so long. Hawaii health officials still recommend wearing masks indoors at schools, hospitals, prisons and other “congregate living settings.” Sen. Kurt Fevella, the lone Republican in the state Senate, said he gives credit to the governor for not lifting the mandate sooner, even though he knows many of his constituents are ready to take their masks off. You don’t have a lot of hospitals.” Kauai resident Sheila Herr said she will continue wearing a mask when indoors around people, like at the grocery store, even if it’s not mandatory. “The governor and the director of health are very conservative and it has benefited us because we’ve got the lowest case rate and the second lowest mortality rate in the country,” Green said.

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History of this topic

Why no one is talking about new mask rules even as COVID-19 rises in L.A.
1 year, 3 months ago

Why no one is talking about new mask rules even as COVID-19 rises in L.A.

LA Times  

Despite rising coronavirus outbreaks across Los Angeles County, officials said they have no plans for new public mask mandates — a sign of how COVID-19 policies have changed in an era of plentiful vaccines, lower death rates and back-to-normal culture. “We have such good tools right now that we really shouldn’t get there.” California COVID outbreaks hit workplaces, schools across …

Hong Kong to lift COVID-19 mask mandate on Wednesday
1 year, 9 months ago

Hong Kong to lift COVID-19 mask mandate on Wednesday

Associated Press  

HONG KONG — Hong Kong will lift its mask mandate on Wednesday, ending the city’s last major restriction imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The city’s chief executive, John Lee, said masks will no longer be required both outdoors and indoors, including on public transit, but some high-risk areas including hospitals and elderly homes can still require their use. “In order …

This city had world's longest Covid mask mandate. Now scrapped after 1,000 days
1 year, 9 months ago

This city had world's longest Covid mask mandate. Now scrapped after 1,000 days

Hindustan Times  

Hongkongers will finally be able to leave home without a face mask from Wednesday, nearly 1,000 days after the pandemic mandate was imposed. Pedestrians wearing protective Covid mask Hong Kong was one of the last places on Earth to enforce mask-wearing outside, with violators facing hefty fines. "Making it illegal not to wear one is frankly anachronistic by now," University …

World’s longest Covid-19 mask mandate: This city is scrapping it after 945 days
1 year, 9 months ago

World’s longest Covid-19 mask mandate: This city is scrapping it after 945 days

Live Mint  

Hong Kong will lift its mask mandate from 1 March 2023, ending the city's last major restriction imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The city's Chief Executive John Lee said the requirement will end outdoors and indoors, including public transit, but some high-risk premises including hospitals and elderly homes can still require people to wear masks. Next month will see Hong …

Hong Kong will lift its mask mandate Wednesday, its last major COVID restriction
1 year, 9 months ago

Hong Kong will lift its mask mandate Wednesday, its last major COVID restriction

LA Times  

Hong Kong will lift its mask mandate Wednesday, ending the city’s last major restriction imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. “In order to give people a very clear message that Hong Kong is resuming normalcy, I think this is the right time to make the decision,” he said. He said the return to greater normality would be beneficial to Hong Kong’s …

COVID mask mandates for public and passenger transport in WA set to end next week
2 years, 3 months ago

COVID mask mandates for public and passenger transport in WA set to end next week

ABC  

WA's transition out of COVID is continuing with mask mandates on public and passenger transport to end late next week. Key points: Mask mandates will continue in aged and disability care facilities Visitor restrictions in those settings have been eased from Friday People are urged to continue wearing masks in crowded indoor settings Premier Mark McGowan said the move was …

Pandemic-weary Americans plan for summer despite COVID surge
2 years, 7 months ago

Pandemic-weary Americans plan for summer despite COVID surge

Associated Press  

HONOLULU — A high school prom in Hawaii where masked dancers weren’t allowed to touch. “People probably are underestimating the prevalence of COVID,” said Crystal Watson, public health lead in the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security’s Coronavirus Resource Center. “I think there’s a lot more virus out there than we recognize, and so people are much, much more likely …

Hawaii public school students to remain masked for summer
2 years, 7 months ago

Hawaii public school students to remain masked for summer

Associated Press  

HONOLULU — Public school students in Hawaii will be required to wear masks while indoors for summer classes and related activities. Hawaii is the only state in the nation that still has a universal indoor mask requirement for public school students. Hawaii’s State Epidemiologist Sarah Kemble said officials are still discussing whether to keep the rule in place for the …

Even as COVID cases rise, mask mandates stay shelved
2 years, 7 months ago

Even as COVID cases rise, mask mandates stay shelved

LA Times  

The CDC urges people to mask up in indoor public places where cases are rising, but few local jurisdictions are bringing back requirements. In New York City, cases are again rising and this week crossed the city’s threshold for “medium risk” due to the widening spread of the Omicron subvariant knowns as BA.2. “I don’t anticipate many places, if any, …

Even as COVID cases rise, mask mandates stay shelved
2 years, 7 months ago

Even as COVID cases rise, mask mandates stay shelved

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — An increase in COVID-19 infections around the U.S. has sent more cities into new high-risk categories that are supposed to trigger indoor mask wearing, but much of the country is stopping short of bringing back restrictions amid deep pandemic fatigue. In New York City, cases are again rising and this week crossed the city’s threshold for “medium …

With rising COVID-19 cases in India, come mask mandates: The places that are asking people to cover up
2 years, 7 months ago

With rising COVID-19 cases in India, come mask mandates: The places that are asking people to cover up

Firstpost  

After removing COVID curbs in early April, many states and Union territories have once again reintroduced mask mandates, seeing a rise in cases and the infection rate across the country India over the past few weeks has been seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases, leading states to re-impose mask mandates. This means that not wearing mask would not be a …

Mask mandates return to US college campuses as cases rise
2 years, 8 months ago

Mask mandates return to US college campuses as cases rise

Associated Press  

The final weeks of the college school year have been disrupted yet again by COVID-19 as universities bring back mask mandates, switch to online classes and scale back large gatherings in response to upticks in coronavirus infections. But several Northeast cities have seen a rise in cases and hospitalizations in recent weeks, as the BA.2 subvariant of the omicron variant …

Mask mandates return to U.S. college campuses as cases rise
2 years, 8 months ago

Mask mandates return to U.S. college campuses as cases rise

LA Times  

Signs indicating that protective face masks must be worn in classrooms are displayed outside lecture halls at Columbia University in New York. But several Northeast cities have seen a rise in cases and hospitalizations in recent weeks, as the BA.2 subvariant of the Omicron variant continues to rapidly spread throughout the U.S. “As much as we would like to move …

Justice Dept. to appeal order voiding travel mask mandate
2 years, 8 months ago

Justice Dept. to appeal order voiding travel mask mandate

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is filing an appeal seeking to overturn a judge’s order that voided the federal mask mandate on planes and trains and in travel hubs, officials said. The CDC said in a statement that it is its “continuing assessment that at this time an order requiring masking in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for the …

Justice Dept. to appeal order voiding travel mask mandate
2 years, 8 months ago

Justice Dept. to appeal order voiding travel mask mandate

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is filing an appeal seeking to overturn a judge’s order that voided the federal mask mandate on planes and trains and in travel hubs, officials said Wednesday. The CDC said in a statement Wednesday that it is its “continuing assessment that at this time an order requiring masking in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary …

EXPLAINED: What Happens in the Post-Mask World of Travel?
2 years, 8 months ago

EXPLAINED: What Happens in the Post-Mask World of Travel?

News 18  

A ruling by a US federal judge has ended — at least for now — the requirement that people wear masks on planes and public transportation, and there is plenty of confusion about the new, post-mask world of travel. In a 59-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Tampa, Florida, said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and …

US Justice Department appealing order that ended travel mask rule
2 years, 8 months ago

US Justice Department appealing order that ended travel mask rule

Al Jazeera  

A US judge this week suspended a mandate requiring travellers to wear masks on planes, trains and other public transit. Anthony Coley, the department’s director of public affairs, tweeted on Wednesday that a notice of appeal was filed after the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the mask mandate for travel “remains necessary to protect the public health”. …

Pilots announce mask mandate has been dropped mid-flight in US, angering passengers
2 years, 8 months ago

Pilots announce mask mandate has been dropped mid-flight in US, angering passengers

The Independent  

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Plane passengers in the US are reporting that some pilots announced the country’s federal mask mandate …

Covid-19: No masks required on planes and trains, rules US federal judge
2 years, 8 months ago

Covid-19: No masks required on planes and trains, rules US federal judge

Hindustan Times  

The US Transportation Security Administration will stop requiring passengers on airplanes, trains and other public transportation to wear masks, after a federal judge struck down the mandate earlier Monday. “Today’s court decision means CDC’s public transportation masking order is not in effect at this time,” an administration official said in a statement. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki called the …

End to US mask mandate for travel brings cheers, concerns
2 years, 8 months ago

End to US mask mandate for travel brings cheers, concerns

Al Jazeera  

With COVID-19 cases rising again, lifting the mandate could make some passengers wary, prompt others to fly again. A United States judge’s decision to strike down a mask mandate on planes, trains and other forms of transportation in the US has been met with some cheers, while sparking concerns that removing masks could lead to more COVID-19 infections. In a …

Feds will appeal mask ruling only if mandate still needed
2 years, 8 months ago

Feds will appeal mask ruling only if mandate still needed

LA Times  

The Justice Department said Tuesday it will not appeal a federal district judge’s ruling that ended the nation’s mask mandate on public transit unless the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes the requirement is still necessary. In a statement released a day after a Florida judge ended the sweeping mandate, which required face coverings on planes and trains and …

US judge overturns mandatory mask mandate on planes, trains
2 years, 8 months ago

US judge overturns mandatory mask mandate on planes, trains

Al Jazeera  

A federal judge in the US state of Florida has ruled a United States government order requiring people to wear masks on public transportation is unlawful, overturning a Biden administration effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Last week, US health officials had extended by 15 days the mandate requiring travellers to wear masks on airplanes, trains, and in taxis, …

Airlines push Biden to drop the mask mandate for travel
2 years, 9 months ago

Airlines push Biden to drop the mask mandate for travel

LA Times  

Airlines for America, which represents many airlines, and the U.S. Travel Assn. Airlines for America, which represents American, Delta, United, Southwest, Alaska, JetBlue and other carriers, released a letter Wednesday addressed to President Biden, saying “the persistent and steady decline of hospitalization and death rates are the most compelling indicator that our country is well protected against disease from COVID-19.” …

First on CNN: Biden administration set to extend travel mask mandate for another month
2 years, 9 months ago

First on CNN: Biden administration set to extend travel mask mandate for another month

CNN  

CNN — The Transportation Security Administration is set to extend the federal public transportation mask mandate for another 30 days, an administration official told CNN, pointing to guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The official’s comments came after CNN reported that federal officials began notifying stakeholders in the airline industry of the upcoming announcement. “During that …

Hawaii will drop its mask mandate this month, the last state in the nation to do so
2 years, 9 months ago

Hawaii will drop its mask mandate this month, the last state in the nation to do so

CNN  

CNN — Hawaii’s mask mandate will expire March 25, Gov. “It’s taken the entire community to get to this point – with lowered case counts and hospitalizations,” Ige said in a tweet. He added in another tweet: “If we see another surge, we will be ready to reinstitute the mask policy, if needed.” The mandate will come to an end …

USC lifts mask mandate for most campus facilities
2 years, 9 months ago

USC lifts mask mandate for most campus facilities

LA Times  

USC on Monday will lift its indoor masking requirement for most campus facilities, officials announced. Masks will still be required at healthcare facilities and aboard public transportation, including USC shuttles, wrote Provost Charles F. Zukoski and Senior Vice President of Administration David Wright in a message to students. That comes after Los Angeles County issued a revised health order removing …

Masks optional in many New York schools after mandate ends
2 years, 9 months ago

Masks optional in many New York schools after mandate ends

Associated Press  

BUFFALO, N.Y. — School districts across New York state, including many of the largest, made mask wearing optional for students and staff beginning Wednesday as a statewide mandate came to an end. “I thought it was good because I could finally breathe better.” In New York City, which has the nation’s largest school district, an indoor mask mandate is expected …

Hawaii is ending certain Covid-19 safety precautions for domestic travelers later this month
2 years, 9 months ago

Hawaii is ending certain Covid-19 safety precautions for domestic travelers later this month

CNN  

CNN — Hawaii’s Safe Travels program, established to slow the spread of Covid-19 through safety precautions for travelers, will come to an end on March 25, the state’s governor announced. Domestic passengers arriving in Hawaii after the program ends won’t need to follow earlier regulations, like showing proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test to bypass quarantine, according to …

California is lifting more indoor mask rules. What does this mean for me?
2 years, 9 months ago

California is lifting more indoor mask rules. What does this mean for me?

LA Times  

Band members play while wearing special masks at Maywood Center For Enriched Studies. The statewide requirement that unvaccinated people remain masked in indoor public settings has remained consistent since California fully reopened last June. Most counties in California — including San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura — on Feb. 16 allowed the state’s two-month old universal masking-wearing order …

Mask mandates are being ditched by more states and schools. But a decision on public transportation is still up in the air
2 years, 9 months ago

Mask mandates are being ditched by more states and schools. But a decision on public transportation is still up in the air

CNN  

CNN — Even some of the most ardent supporters of Covid-19 precautions are ditching mask mandates as health officials release new guidelines and hospitalizations plummet. Dr. Mark Ghaly, state Health and Human Services Agency secretary, said he’s “pleased with how the data has come down.” Los Angeles County is aligning itself with California’s new masking guidance by no longer requiring …

New York to lift statewide school mask mandate by March 2
2 years, 9 months ago

New York to lift statewide school mask mandate by March 2

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — New York’s statewide masking requirement in schools will be lifted by March 2, Gov. Hours later, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he’s considering lifting vaccine mandates on restaurants, bars and theaters by early next week if infections and hospitalizations continue their downward trend. A mask mandate on the city’s approximately 1 million schoolchildren could also …

Governor Kathy Hochul says New York indoor school mask mandate to be lifted this week
2 years, 9 months ago

Governor Kathy Hochul says New York indoor school mask mandate to be lifted this week

CNN  

CNN — New York will no longer require students to wear masks in schools beginning on Wednesday, Gov. Counties and cities that have a higher rate of Covid-19 transmission have the “flexibility” to keep the mask requirement in schools, Hochul said, and parents and guardians may still send their children to school in masks. “If we see no unforeseen spikes …

CDC to significantly ease pandemic mask guidelines Friday
2 years, 10 months ago

CDC to significantly ease pandemic mask guidelines Friday

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will significantly loosen federal mask-wearing guidelines to protect against COVID-19 transmission on Friday, according to two people familiar with the matter, meaning most Americans will no longer be advised to wear masks in indoor public settings. The change comes as nearly all U.S. states that had put in place indoor mask-wearing mandates for the winter …

US covid restrictions: Boston and Hawaii join states and major cities lifting requirements
2 years, 10 months ago

US covid restrictions: Boston and Hawaii join states and major cities lifting requirements

CNN  

CNN — As the number of new Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations slowly falls, cities and states are loosening vaccine and mask requirements. “As of today, our public health data show that Boston is officially below the 3 critical thresholds for heightened Covid protections, so we are lifting the proof of vaccination requirement,” Wu said in a tweet. Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, …

Washington state to lift indoor mask mandate March 21
2 years, 10 months ago

Washington state to lift indoor mask mandate March 21

Associated Press  

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington’s statewide indoor mask mandate, one of the few left in the country, will lift in most places on March 21, including at schools and child care facilities, Gov. Inslee said that the late March date to lift the mask mandate is based on hospital admission projections. “And when we make decisions, it seems to me we …

Federal health officials say they will soon update COVID-19 masking guidance
2 years, 10 months ago

Federal health officials say they will soon update COVID-19 masking guidance

LA Times  

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, shown testifying before Congress in November, told reporters on Wednesday that her agency would soon issue new guidance on mask-wearing. Federal health officials said Wednesday that they will soon update their guidance on mask wearing, even as several states have recently dialed back mandates requiring people to wear face coverings while indoors. In a White …

More COVID-19 rules fall as CDC hints at better times ahead
2 years, 10 months ago

More COVID-19 rules fall as CDC hints at better times ahead

LA Times  

Customers eat at the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia on Feb. 16, 2022. The nation’s leading health officials said Wednesday that the U.S. is moving closer to the point that COVID-19 is no longer a “constant crisis” as more cities, businesses and sports venues began lifting pandemic restrictions around the country. Philadelphia officials said Wednesday the city’s vaccine mandate for …

California delays decision on lifting school mask mandate
2 years, 10 months ago

California delays decision on lifting school mask mandate

Associated Press  

Gavin Newsom delayed a closely watched decision on lifting California’s school mask mandate Monday, even as other Democratic governors around the country have dropped them in recent weeks. But the teachers’ stance was made clear minutes after Ghaly finished speaking, when the powerful California Teachers Association issued a statement praising the “cautious approach to masking.” “We know that masking, strong …

California school mask mandate will remain in place through Feb. 28
2 years, 10 months ago

California school mask mandate will remain in place through Feb. 28

LA Times  

California will keep its indoor mask mandate for K-12 schools in place at least through the end of the month, the state’s top health official said Monday, even as it moves this week to relax face covering rules in other settings. E. Toby Boyd, president of the California Teachers Assn., said in a statement that “we support the administration’s decision …

California to keep mask mandate in schools as indoor mandate ends
2 years, 10 months ago

California to keep mask mandate in schools as indoor mandate ends

CNN  

CNN — Just one day before California is set to relax a statewide mask mandate for vaccinated people in indoor public spaces, the state’s top health official announced that masks will still be required in schools. There will be no change to the school requirement, Health & Human Services Agency Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly announced at a press conference Monday. …

From New York to Nevada, how US is bidding farewell to COVID-19 restrictions
2 years, 10 months ago

From New York to Nevada, how US is bidding farewell to COVID-19 restrictions

Firstpost  

Seeing a drop in coronavirus infections and hospitalisations, several states, including Nevada, New York and Illinois have ended mask mandates for indoor settings Coronavirus restrictions are slowly being phased out of the United States of America. With the Omicron wave of COVID-19 subsiding, several US states, including Nevada, New York and Illinois have ended mask mandates this week for indoor …

COVID conflict: Democratic governors skip ahead of Biden and CDC on easing mask mandates
2 years, 10 months ago

COVID conflict: Democratic governors skip ahead of Biden and CDC on easing mask mandates

LA Times  

Kathy Hochul listens as President Biden speaks during a meeting with the National Governors Assn. “Governors are picking up on a sense that voters simply won’t tolerate mask mandates any longer,” said Julia Lynch, a political scientist at the University of Pennsylvania. The administration continues to recommend indoor masking in areas of high transmission, which, according to White House Press …

Here’s why mask mandates are falling across the US
2 years, 10 months ago

Here’s why mask mandates are falling across the US

Associated Press  

As the omicron wave of the coronavirus subsides, several U.S. states including Nevada, New York and Illinois ended mask mandates this week for indoor settings, while others lifted requirements at schools. Steve Sisolak said the requirement for masks in public places would be lifted “effective immediately.” State casino regulators quickly followed with an order eliminating the mandate for casinos “unless …

US state mask mandates to expire, creating tensions for schools
2 years, 10 months ago

US state mask mandates to expire, creating tensions for schools

Al Jazeera  

School board meeting have devolved into shouting matches and arrests over whether masks should be worn. “We can’t allow those individual passions to decide the debate.” The issue of masks in schools has been so contentious in much of the country that school board meetings have devolved into shouting matches and arrests, superintendents have seen protesters outside their homes, and …

California will lift mask mandate as omicron cases fall
2 years, 10 months ago

California will lift mask mandate as omicron cases fall

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California will end its indoor masking requirement for vaccinated people next week but masks still are the rule for schoolchildren, state health officials announced Monday amid rapidly falling coronavirus cases. Local governments can continue their own indoor masking requirements and last week Los Angeles County’s health officials said they intend to keep theirs in place beyond the …

California Will Lift Mask Mandate As Omicron Cases Fall
2 years, 10 months ago

California Will Lift Mask Mandate As Omicron Cases Fall

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California will end its indoor masking requirement for vaccinated people next week but masks still are the rule for schoolchildren, state health officials announced Monday amid rapidly falling coronavirus cases. Local governments can continue their own indoor masking requirements and last week Los Angeles County’s health officials said they intend to keep theirs in …

Judge temporarily restores New York’s mask mandate
2 years, 10 months ago

Judge temporarily restores New York’s mask mandate

Associated Press  

An appeals judge restored New York’s mask mandate Tuesday, a day after a judge in a lower court ruled that Gov. The stay came after a day of confusion, in which some New York school districts — particularly in areas that lean Republican — rushed to make masks optional for students and teachers, and state education officials told administrators they …

Orange County to don masks again as state mandate goes into effect Wednesday
3 years ago

Orange County to don masks again as state mandate goes into effect Wednesday

LA Times  

Shoppers leave the Target along Harbor Boulevard on Tuesday in Costa Mesa. According to data released by the Orange County Health Care Agency on Tuesday, there have been no identified cases of the variant in the county yet but the Centers for Disease Control’s COVID Data Tracker identifies Orange County as having “substantial” transmission of the coronavirus on a four-tier …

California’s new indoor mask mandate: What you need to know
3 years ago

California’s new indoor mask mandate: What you need to know

LA Times  

An arriving traveler takes a rapid coronavirus test at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Dec. 3. California on Wednesday announced a statewide mask mandate for indoor public spaces. “Even a 10% increase in indoor masking can reduce case transmission significantly,” said Dr. Mark Ghaly, the California health and human services secretary, in explaining the new rules. Los Angeles …

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