Travel Mask Requirement Extended Until At Least May 3

CNBC: Biden Administration Extends Transportation Mask Mandate For 15 More Days
The Biden administration is extending a mask mandate for airplanes and transit for 15 days, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday. The mandate was set to expire after April 18, following a one-month extension announced in March. Airlines have required masks on planes since early in the Covid pandemic in 2020, but the Biden administration made them mandatory in early 2021. The CDC said it is monitoring the spread of omicron, including the BA.2 subvariant. (Josephs, 4/13)

In related news from the airline industry —

Bloomberg: Delta Air To End $200 Monthly Fee For Unvaccinated Employees
Delta Air Lines Inc. will stop assessing a $200 monthly surcharge for employees who have not received a coronavirus vaccination, the latest sign that the travel industry is relaxing its approach to the virus even as the U.S. plans to extend a face-mask requirement. The assessment to cover the added costs of Covid-19 illnesses will end April 30, a Delta spokesman said Wednesday. Delta declined to say how many employees have been paying the surcharge but that more than 95% of its 75,000 workers had been vaccinated as of January. (Bachman, 4/13)

The Hill: Southwest Airlines Pilots Report Sharp Rise In Fatigue 
The union representing the pilots of Southwest Airlines sent a letter to the airline carrier on Tuesday that details a sharp rise in fatigue among pilots. The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA) wrote to top airline executives that it has seen a sharp rise in pilot fatigue since the airline began ramping up its flight schedule last summer amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.  (Oshin, 4/13)

And more news about mandates —

Los Angeles Times: California Says Asymptomatic People Exposed To Coronavirus Don't Need To Quarantine
California is no longer recommending a five-day quarantine period for people who are exposed to the coronavirus but remain asymptomatic, a move that could potentially result in a relaxation of similar rules in Los Angeles County. Doing so, officials say, would relieve the burden for employers and institutions to keep otherwise healthy people at home following exposure. The move also reflects a new pandemic reality, according to state officials — that slowly but steadily increasing vaccination rates and the availability of anti-COVID drugs are reducing the overall risk of California’s hospitals being overwhelmed in potential future surges. (Lin II and Money, 4/13)

AP: Board Of Health Opts Against New School Vaccine Requirement
The Washington state Board of Health has decided that COVID-19 vaccines will not be required for students to attend K-12 schools this fall. The Board of Health made the decision in a unanimous vote Wednesday, The Seattle Times reported. Last fall, the board created a separate technical advisory group tasked with researching whether a COVID vaccine would meet all the scientific criteria needed to be added to the list of required K-12 immunizations. (4/13 )

Chicago Tribune: Hundreds In Chicago Police Ranks Still Unvaccinated Despite Deadline 
As the latest deadline for Chicago police officers to get the COVID-19 vaccine came and went Wednesday, the remaining holdouts in the department found themselves once again facing off with the city over who would blink first. Under a court-ordered arbitrator’s ruling in February, the approximately 12,000 employees of the Chicago Police Department had until Wednesday to get the second shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or the first shot of the Johnson & Johnson version. That decision came after months of contention between Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara over her vaccination requirement for all city employees, a rivalry that played out in public finger-pointing and, at one point, dueling lawsuits. (Yin and Fry, 4/13)

KHN: A Year In, Montana’s Rolled-Back Public Health Powers Leave Some Areas In Limbo
A year after a new Montana law stripped local health boards of their rulemaking authority, confusion and power struggles are creating a patchwork oversight system that may change how public health is administered long after the pandemic is over. The law, which took effect last April amid criticism of mask mandates and other covid restrictions on businesses, gave local elected leaders the final say in creating public health rules. Supporters said elected officials would be accountable to voters if they abuse that authority, while opponents said the change would inject politics into health decisions. (Houghton, 4/14)