By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – The administration of President Joe Biden will increase the requirement that travelers wear masks while traveling on planes, trains, or in transit hubs up to April 18, as public health officials review whether mask requirements need to be removed. A senior administration official confirmed this to Reuters.

This move extends by one month the existing requirements which were due to expire on March 18. It is likely that it will be made public later Thursday. According to Reuters, the official said that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would work in collaboration with other government agencies over the coming month “to inform a revised policy framework for when and under which circumstances masks are required in public transport corridors.”

The CDC recommended that the Transportation Security Administration be extended. This could be the last national extension of mask requirements, according to some officials from the government and Airline.

Travel groups and airlines last month urged the government to end the Federal mask mandate on public transportation by March 18.

The CDC has relaxed last month its recommendations for the wearing of masks. U.S. agencies have removed mask requirements from federal buildings in Washington and elsewhere with moderate or low levels of COVID-19.

Last week, the CDC stated that 93% US population lives in a place where COVID levels can be low enough to not require masks.

The current CDC transit order requires all travellers to wear masks at airports as well as on trains, stations, subways. subways. and buses.

Trump’s predecessor, Donald Trump, refused to allow the U.S. government agencies to require that transit be covered despite airlines and other modes of transportation requiring masks.