The federal mask regulation for public transportation will expire last Friday, March 18. Earlier last week, the Transportation Security Administration extended the mask regulation until April 18. The White House extended the mask-wearing mandate that President Joe Biden put in place in February 2021. twice. However, the Senate said that the preventive public health measure on the front line against the COVID-19 pandemic should be stopped.
On Tuesday, March 15, the Senate voted 57-40 to end the mask mandate. Eight Democratic Senators crossed the aisle to vote in favor of the bill, with Sen. Mitt Romney the only Republican voted against the bill.
Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) Introduces the bill. On the Senate floor, Paul said, “We have it in our power today to assure the American people that we cannot reverse a return to normal.” This is not surprising from the staunch anti-government senator.
Paul has refused to be vaccinated and remains opposed to any government action to combat the pandemic, despite his opposing stance on the Ebola virus in 2014. Senator Paul is also on a crusade to remove Dr. Anthony Fauci from the position of Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
Although it passed in the Senate, legislative hurdles before the bill made the task of wearing masks almost impossible to actually end. Even if the bill were put to a vote in the House and passed, President Biden would veto the bill.
While parts of society have relaxed pandemic regulations, the data hasn’t really shown a solid reason to do so. Current US death rate is falling, but still close to 900 deaths every week. The number is similar to the first summer of the 2020 pandemic. While recent variants of COVID are less deadly, they are more contagious and, therefore, the total number of deaths has not decreased significantly.
