More than a month since omicron cases started to diminish, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering revising its nationwide transit mask mandate.
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Dr. David Dowdy, epidemiologist with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told KCBS Radio's "Ask An Expert" it's important for travelers to be aware that coronavirus is still out there.
"If you're in the Bay Area the overall risk is relatively low. Rates are going down, they've been going down for a month or more now, but it's not zero," he said.
For individuals who are anxious to take their mask off, Dowdy said "we're getting to a place where it would probably be ok," but reassured those who want to stay masked-up that it is "absolutely a very reasonable choice."
San Francisco case rates have dropped massively over the past two months since their peak of around 2,000 new cases a day in mid-January.
As the CDC considers revising mask guidelines, the Transportation Security Administration has gone in the other direction, expanding their masking requirements for another month until April 18.
"We are in for a period of different standards in different places, but hopefully getting to a place where we can all live life a little bit more," Dowdy said. "The hesitation to ease restrictions on transit is because we still have some areas of the country where there are higher rates than others and once you take masks off in transit areas, you basically have to do it nationwide."
Until cases become more consistent, Dowdy said it is likely masking requirements will be varied from place to place, encouraging travelers to look at the rates of where they're going and make an educated decision for their own COVID-19 safety.
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