CDC says it needs more time to monitor the highly contagious BA.2 omicron subvariant of the virus that causes COVID-19.
Though COVID-19 cases remain low and face maskhave vanished from most public settings, U.S. health officials Wednesday extended for two more weeks the mask mandate for airlines and public transportation that was set to expire Monday, citing concerns about an upturn in cases in the Northeast., which applies to planes, trains, buses, boats, stations, airports, marinas and other transit hubs, will remain in effect until at least May 3 while it monitors the BA.
The extension was welcomed by some Bay Area commuters on Wednesday but questioned by some health experts who wondered what difference two more weeks would make. A commuter with a face masks on exit and board a train at MacArthur BART station in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, April 13, 2022. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is extending the requirement for planes, trains, buses and boats two more weeks to monitor the BA.2 omicron subvariant, said Wednesday.
California ended its statewide mask mandate for indoor public places on Feb. 15, and ended the statewide requirement in schools March 12. But the CDC noted Wednesday that since early April that 7-day average increased to 30,496 cases on April 11, the most recent figure reported. Cases have risen more sharply in the Northeast, in states such as New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. But California also has seen its 7-day average rise to 2,823 on April 11 from 1,989 April 4.
Mask-wearing baseball fans arrive aboard Muni for the San Francisco Giants game, Wednesday, April 13, 2022, at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif.