Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Frustration over the continuation of a mask mandate won't likely result in any slowing of the bustling air travel uptick the nation is experiencing.
With the travel mask mandate set to expire April 18, the Centers for Disease Control announced Wednesday that the mandate for air, train and bus travelers is to be extended for fifteen more days, ending on May 3. The extension is a result of an uptick in cases, mainly the result of a subvariant of omicron said to be responsible for a majority of the current cases.
Is this extension going to effect the traffic of travelers? Probably not. "In the last few years, airports are packed. It's not going to make a difference," says local travel agent Chuck Teal. "People are so used to dealing with this whole mess at the airports and being on a plane they get to the point where they are just going to have to deal with it and still go on with their plans. It's only a few hours out of their vacation"
With rising COVID cases, varying laws and subvariants of variants, the mask mandate for travelers could become more commonplace or could come back even after the extension. "Another variant shows up and all of the sudden indoor mask mandates come out again. This could go back and forth. I hope we get to a point where they can say mask are recommended and not necessary and that it becomes the people's choice," Chuck Teal said.
There has been a reported increase in recent weeks with rising confirmed cases reaching 25,000 to 30,000 a day. An overwhelming majority of these cases are said to be the BA.2 strain of the omicron variant. With at home tests becoming more accessible, this could be an undercount.
