On April 18, 2022, a district judge in Florida, Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, struck down the federal mandate that requires all citizens using public transit to wear a mask. Due to this ruling, masks have become optional on buses, trains and airplanes. Some companies are in agreement with the district judge’s ruling, while others are still urging their passengers to mask up, all according to latimes.com.

Southwest Airlines is just one example of a company adapting to this new policy. Unlike the past two years, passengers and employees now have the choice to wear a mask on flights both at domestic airports and at some international locations. They are encouraging individuals to make decisions that are best for their wellbeing. As an added precaution, Southwest Airlines has high-efficiency particulate air filtration systems on all aircrafts which removes 99.97% of airborne particles, all according to swamedia.com.

However, the ending of mask mandates does not stop at public transit. Car ride services such as Uber and Lyft have dropped their mask mandate, allowing passengers to choose if they would like to wear a mask or not. This decision was made as a result of other transportation services no longer requiring masks. It was stated by the company that passengers may be asked to wear a mask if they are in an area where a mandate is in place, all according to cnn.com.

As COVID-19 is still present in society, some counties and states are choosing to still have a mask mandate for the safety of their citizens.

In Los Angeles (LA) County, it was decided on April 18, 2022 that citizens of the county would not be required to wear masks on public transit and ride shares. However, after statements made by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention about the dangers of lifting the mask mandate, county officials quickly changed their minds. On April 22, 2022, just four days later, the mask mandate was back in place, all according to abc7.com.

Metrolink, a commonly used transportation system in LA, stated that they would adhere to the county’s ruling and require passengers to wear masks, according to abc7.com. Individuals traveling inside LAX and Hollywood Burbank airport are also required to wear masks while in the airport, according to lalist.com.