The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued an Order that requires all persons to wear face masks when boarding, disembarking, and for the duration of travel on conveyances and at transportation hubs within the U.S. to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The Order, which went into effect at 11:59 p.m. ET on Feb. 1, also requires conveyance operators to make best efforts to ensure compliance.

The new guidance applies to all travelers and conveyance operators and crew members aboard airplanes, ships, ferries, trains, subways, buses, taxis, and ride-shares, and in transportation hubs. The CDC states that the face mask must cover both the mouth and nose, and the agency has provided a list of attributes of masks needed to fulfill the requirements of the Order on its website.

The CDC Order also requires conveyance operators to use best efforts to ensure that every passenger and crew member complies with the mask mandate by:

• Only boarding those wearing a mask;

• Instructing persons that federal law requires the wearing of face masks while on the vessel and failing to do so is a violation of federal law;

• Monitoring face mask usage on board and seeking compliance from anyone not wearing a mask;

• Disembarking any person who fails to comply at the earliest opportunity;

• Providing prominent and adequate notice of the face mask requirement on apps, websites and emails, posted signs, and/or notices on printed tickets.

The CDC order, which follows President Biden’s executive order on promoting measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 by travelers within the U.S. and those who enter the country from abroad, will remain in effect until termination of the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Additional guidance on the use of masks to slow the spread of COVID-19 is available on CDC’s website.

Since 1935, MOPS has protected the licenses and livelihoods of more than 80,000 deck and engineering officers, state and federal pilots and certified tankermen.  

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