TSA workers now have authority to enforce mask mandates at airport security

Nope.

That’s the message that Transportation Security Administration workers are now authorized to enforce against anyone trying to fly without a mask.

Backing up the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mask mandate issued Saturday for all public transit – planes, trains and buses – the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Sunday gave enforcement authority to TSA employees “at TSA screening checkpoints and throughout the commercial and public transportation system,” according to a Determination of a National Emergency signed by the department’s acting secretary, David Pekoske.

“The purpose of this Executive Order is to save lives and allow all Americans, including the millions of people employed in the transportation industry, to travel and work safely,” Pekoske’s declaration said. “I specifically direct the Transportation Security Administration to use its authority … and instrumentalities of the United States in order to address a threat to transportation, recognizing that such threat may involve passenger and employee safety.”

Also included in the CDC’s mask order, which takes effect Monday at 11:59 p.m., are public boats, subways, taxis and ride-shares, plus inside airports and other transportation hubs.

The CDC emphasized that its edict came about due to the overwhelming number of coronavirus cases nationwide, combined with the difficulty of staying 6 feet apart on a public conveyance.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3pG5Bw4