The decision was made Monday in Tampa by Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, appointed during the Trump administration. She also said that the Centers for Infectious Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) did not provide sufficient justification to support their decision and that they did not follow the proper procedure for adopting new rules. .
In her 59-page decision, Judge Mizelle states that the only possible solution for her was to completely cancel the obligation to wear a mask in transport since it would be impossible for her to suspend the application of the rule only for people who objected to it in the court application.
She explained thata partial solution would mean doing nothing at all
but that the court had all the necessary powers to intervene even if the objectives of the CDC that seeks to combat the virus are commendable.
Since our system does not allow agencies to act illegally, even for beneficial purposes, the court declares the mask requirement illegal and cancels it
she wrote.
The US Department of Justice declined to comment Monday on whether or not it intends to appeal the case.
Recently, the CDC extended until May 3 the obligation to wear the mask which was previously to end on Monday. The goal was to allow more time to learn more about the Omicron subvariant called BA.2, which is the strain responsible for the majority of current cases in the United States.
Backstage transporter games
The mask-wearing requirement for passengers has been the subject of months of behind-the-scenes games by airlines seeking to end it.
Major carriers argue that the ventilation systems in modern aircraft make transmission of the virus highly unlikely during a flight. The elected Republicans in Congress were also fighting against this obligation.
Other dissenting voices argue that many states have ended mandatory mask-wearing in restaurants, businesses and other indoor public places as cases have dropped drastically from the peak of the Omicron wave to the mid-January.
Several violent incidents have been reported on board planes, mainly due to disagreements over the wearing of masks.
The legal challenge to the mask requirement was filed in July 2021 by two plaintiffs supported by the Health Freedom Defense Fund (Health Freedom Defense Fund), described by the judge as a non-profit organization that opposes laws and rules that force individuals to receive medical treatment, undergo medical procedures, or have medical devices forced upon them against their will
.
