MARTA to stop enforcing mask mandate
MARTA train pulling into a station. (FOX 5 Atlanta) (FOX 5 Atlanta)
ATLANTA - MARTA is no longer requiring riders and employees to mask up on trains and buses.
The transit authority made the announcement Tuesday:
"MARTA will not enforce the mask mandate until further notice. Customers and employees are free to continue wearing masks on the system but masks are not required at this time."
MARTA's announcement follows a similar move by Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and a number of airlines.
A federal judge in Florida struck down the national mask mandate on Monday.
The White House said the mask order "is not in effect at this time" and called the court decision disappointing.
DELTA, OTHER AIRLINES MAKE MASKS OPTIONAL EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY
The Justice Department declined to comment on whether it would seek an emergency stay to block the judge’s order.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also declined to comment.
Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines quickly announced that it was making masks optional - one of the half dozen airlines that made the announcement at the start of the week.
The Georgia Department of Public Health's most recent 7-day moving average of positive PCR cases of COVID-19 was 431.9 on April 15. That average peaked at more than 16,000 cases during the omicron variant surge.
The Associated Press Contributed to this report.