Aug. 17—Passengers will be required to wear masks on the nation's trains, buses, airplanes and airports through Jan. 18 under a federal mandate extended Tuesday by the Biden administration.
The mask mandate by the Transportation Security Administration had been set to expire Sept. 13. The extension of the mandate on public transit and airports comes amid a surge in coronavirus cases across California and nationally due to the highly transmissible delta variant.
In a statement to The Chronicle, a TSA spokesperson said "the purpose of TSA's mask directive is to minimize the spread of COVID-19 on public transportation."
California briefly relaxed indoor mask requirements June 15 when it reopened, though many cities and counties, including San Francisco, have reinstated mask requirements as the state experienced a fourth surge in cases this summer due to the delta variant.
Mask wearing on public transit, however, has been required while riding Bay Area public transit since the start of the pandemic. And data from some transit operators, such as BART, shows that riders overwhelmingly comply with the requirements.
As cases surge, the region's transit agencies are grappling with how to enforce vaccinations among their workers.
Employees at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency are required to get vaccinated or risk losing their jobs once a vaccine gains full approval under a city order for public workers.
Leaders at other transit agencies, such as BART, are debating whether to implement a vaccine mandate among their workers but have stopped short of making vaccines a requirement. BART, which had its return-to-office plans disrupted by the delta variant's spread, is offering its employees two floating paid holidays if they get vaccinated and submit proof by Sept. 15 as part of an incentive plan.
Ricardo Cano is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected]
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