Having been newly sworn in as the 46th president of the United States yesterday, Joe Biden immediately set to work following his inauguration by signing a series of executive orders, several of which are aimed at getting the COVID-19 pandemic under control and curbing its continuing spread across the country.
One of these new orders requires both visitors and employees to "wear masks, maintain physical distance" and adhere to THE COVID-19 guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) while they're on any federal lands or inside federal buildings. That includes places like national parks and federal monuments, such as New York's Statue of Liberty.
"It is the policy of my Administration to halt the spread of coronavirus…by relying on the best available data and science-based public health measures," Biden wrote in his executive order. "Put simply, masks and other public health measures reduce the spread of the disease, particularly when communities make widespread use of such measures, and thus save lives."
Travel + Leisure reported that Biden plans to fulfill a campaign promise today by mandating that masks be worn by anyone traveling via public transportation, such as on buses, trains and airplanes, including while in stations and airports. While the airlines, and rail and bus companies have already instituted policies requiring all passengers to wear masks, a federal mandate carries more weight with the force of law behind it.
It was only earlier this month-following January 6's deadly Capitol riots, and related incidents of pro-Trumpers and anti-maskers behaving threateningly aboard flights-that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) finally stepped in with a pledge to prosecute such unruly passengers and policy-breakers.
The FAA's new law enforcement program applies to "passengers who assault, threaten, intimidate, or interfere with a crewmember" or anyone else on board, and also extends to those who violate airlines' mask-wearing policies. Those who break the rules face penalties of up to $35,000 or potential imprisonment.
Prior to, the airlines' only recourse for disciplining passengers who refused to wear their masks on board had been to ban those customers from flying with them again. While plenty of rule-breakers have been added to various airlines' no-fly lists over the course of the pandemic, that wouldn't prevent said individuals from simply booking with another airline.
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