Travelers will no longer require to wear masks in outdoor transit hubs and in outdoor spaces on ferries, buses, and trolleys as the risk of coronavirus transmission outdoors are lower, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Thursday.
The CDC said it made the change “because of the lower risk of transmission outdoors … Masks are still required indoors on all forms of transportation” regardless of vaccination status.
The change means people can take masks off outdoors while waiting for a train, in an outdoor courtyard of an airport or in open-air transit modes.
The change came after the Biden administration held extensive discussions with transit unions and other groups. The administration is considering other modest changes to its indoor transit mask policies, including potentially allowing vaccinated airline workers to remove their masks in rooms not accessible to the public.
In May, the CDC said fully vaccinated people do not need to wear masks outdoors and can avoid wearing them indoors in most places.
The Biden administration in April extended face mask requirements across all U.S. transportation networks through Sept. 13 to address the spread of COVID-19.
The CDC mask mandate issued in January requires masks in nearly all transportation modes, including on ride-share vehicles.
Many U.S. states have completely rescinded mask requirements and transit is the only remaining place where mask use is mandated.
