Coronavirus Special Report
Year Three: April 16-22, 2022
Year Three: April 16-22, 2022
Read all about Covid! U.S. Coronavirus deaths pass 990,000 and national vaccination rate inches toward 67%. The Florida judge's ruling against the CDC travel mask mandate led U.S. airlines and Amtrak to drop their mask rules. But some airports and local transit systems keep their mandates. Most notably, Los Angeles has reimposed a mask mandate at LAX. The Justice Department will appeal, but the CDC won't demand emergency legal action to reinstate mask rules. Canada says it won't drop its mask mandate. Air Canada tops 100,000 passengers in one day for the first time in more than two years. Uber and Lyft dump their mask mandate. Spain ends indoor masking policy after more than 700 days. Even as travel booms again, Italy and the Netherlands expect sharp declines in volume compared to 2019. And more.
Coronavirus Update: Friday, April 22, 2022
The Chinese government's handling of the Shanghai lockdown continues to create confusion and contention. The Los Angeles Times covers the public anger directed at the Chinese Communist Party. And the pressure is leading the government to relax strictures on the supply chain. The Associated Press has details. Here are today's other developments:
Thursday strength The TSA says 2,279,905 people passed through U.S. airport checkpoints yesterday. That's 90.2% of comparative volume in 2019 and continues the strong post-Easter week of traffic. Mask up again, please Los Angeles County, the country's most populous, has reinstated its public-transit mask mandate. Masks are now required at LAX Airport, on buses and trains and in car-share rides. Fox's Los Angeles television outlet has details. Never mind After imposing a public indoor mask mandate on Monday, Philadelphia has reversed itself and ended the requirement effective immediately. Politico.com has details and the Philadelphia Inquirer adds context. Shortly after the citywide mandate ended, Philadelphia Airport ended its mask mandate. Business travel revives Alaska Airlines chief executive Ben Minicucci says leisure demand has fully recovered. Business travel demand is at 70% of 2019, an important indicator since Seattle-based Alaska Air services many high-tech businesses. Needless death A new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation has found that nearly a quarter of a million Coronavirus deaths in the United States could have been prevented through vaccination. Yahoo!News has details. Barrels and gallons The average price of gasoline in the United States today is $4.12 a gallon, says the AAA. That's unchanged since yesterday. ... Brent Crude oil, which most closely tracks the price of jet fuel, is selling at about $106 a barrel, down slightly from yesterday.Coronavirus Update: Thursday, April 21, 2022
The Biden Administration has signaled that it won't try to revive the in-flight mask mandate now, but will fight for the right of the CDC to impose one in the future. By not filing for an emergency appeal or temporary stay of Monday's ruling by a federal judge in Florida, the White House is showing it is content to abandon the current mandate, which was due to expire on May 3 anyway.Following a slow-roll approach outlined by the Justice Department on Tuesday, the CDC yesterday claimed that it still thinks a mask mandate is necessary and officially requested DOJ appeal Monday's ruling. The Justice Department has appealed today.
What happens now? Here's a likely scenario: The appeal is scheduled and argued in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, a process that could take weeks or even months. Conservative-leaning as it is, the 11th Circuit eventually overturns District Court Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle's sophomoric, ultra-narrow ruling. Victorious, the CDC decides at that unknown date well in the future that a mask mandate is no longer necessary. The plaintiffs, a conservative-action group, appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supremes refuse to hear the case since there is no mask mandate in force and the issue is moot.
Of course, there are genuine risks to the government's strategy. The Conservative 11th Circuit could twist itself into knots to uphold the nearly unsupportable Mizelle ruling. DOJ would then be forced to appeal to the Supremes. And a decidedly Conservative Supreme Court could narrowly rule in favor of the plaintiffs and against a mask mandate. That would seriously weaken the CDC's ability to act in the future.
Stay tuned. For now, take your mask off at the airport and in-flight if that is what you wish. The state of things now is that there is no federal mask mandate. Only cities such as New York and Philadelphia still require masking at the airport. Meanwhile, here are today's other developments:
This is impressive The TSA says 2,027,836 people passed through U.S. airport checkpoints yesterday. That's 89.9% of comparative volume in 2019. Tuesday and Wednesday are the slowest travel days of the week and this week's very strong showing on these two days is impressive. Masks? Of course! Asians routinely mask up when they are ill and in public. That's true even when they have something as minor as a cold. So you can imagine their reluctance to unmask as the Covid pandemic continues to rage. The Wall Street Journal has details. Partygate update British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was rebuked by his own party today (local time) when it refused to block a Parliamentary motion to formally investigate his actions during the pandemic. He's already been fined for breaking Covid restrictions his government wrote. The new investigation will examine whether he lied to Parliament by claiming he'd observed all rules. In the oh-so-proper, convoluted British system, a member of Parliament (even and especially the Prime Minister) is honor-bound to resign. The Guardian has details. New Zealand, new problems New Zealand closed its borders at the beginning of the Covid pandemic and is just now slowly allowing overseas visitors to reach the country. But it's going to be a long haul, requiring perhaps three years to get back to tourist volumes registered in 2019. Bloomberg News has details. Less la dolce vita Even with the current travel boom, Italy tourism authorities expect nearly 30% fewer international visitors in 2022. Overnight stays are expected to be down around 22%. Barrels and gallons The average price of gasoline in the United States today is $4.12 a gallon, says the AAA. That's up about half a cent since yesterday. ... Brent Crude oil, which most closely tracks the price of jet fuel, settled at $108.33 today, about two dollars higher than yesterday. Grubby Grubhub The European owner of Grubhub, the No. 3 restaurant-delivery service in the United States, is considering selling off the company. Why? With the pandemic easing, people are ordering in less. In Grubhub's case, orders fell 5% in the first quarter. The Wall Street Journal has details.Coronavirus Update: Wednesday, April 20, 2022
Monday's judicial ruling that voided the CDC/TSA/Biden Administration travel mandate is still top-of-mind and top-of-the-headlines. The Justice Department says it will appeal the ruling, but only if the CDC tells them to do it. CNN has details of that odd political/legal affair. The Associated Press says that a clear majority of Americans favored keeping the in-flight mask mandate. The details are here. Meanwhile, the judge's ruling is being criticized for its overt bias and a bizarre textualist reading of the law. TheHill.com has those details. Here are today's other developments: Masks off ... Chicago's two airports, O'Hare and Midway, removed their mask mandate after Illinois Governor Pritzker J.B. Pritzker revised an executive order on transportation. And Houston's airports, Hobby and Bush Intercontinental, also removed their mask mandate. The Houston Chronicle has details. Canada says "nay" The Canadian government won't remove its travel mask mandate to match the judge-imposed U.S. decision. CBC News has details. Eights The TSA says 1,979,882 people passed through U.S. airport checkpoints yesterday. That is 88.8% of comparative volume in 2019. Adiós Spain today officially ended the requirement to wear masks in indoor public spaces. The restriction was in place for more than 700 days. The wooden shoe is on the other foot now After complaining for years that the country was overtouristed, Netherlands travel officials may be seeking visitors. Twelve million international visitors will spend at least one night in the Netherlands in 2022. With the exception of Covid-struck 2020 and 2021, that'll be the lowest number in a decade, according to Statista. Barrels and gallons The average price of gasoline in the United States today is $4.114 a gallon, says the AAA. That's up about a penny since yesterday and three cents higher than last week's average. ... Brent Crude oil, which most closely tracks the price of jet fuel, settled at $106.80 today, down half-a-buck since yesterday. Coronavirus Update: Tuesday, April 19, 2022
Virtually all U.S. airlines had made masks optional in-flight by late last evening, but it was more confusing at the airports. In the New York area, for example, Newark lifted its mask mandate after a decree by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy. But Kennedy International and LaGuardia in New York maintained their mandates. Philadelphia International is also maintaining its mask mandate to comply with a city-wide mandate revived yesterday. Citing an Illinois transit order, Chicago/O'Hare and Chicago/Midway said they would continue their mask mandates. Also sticking with mandatory masks: Hobby and Bush Intercontinental, Houston's airports. Among the airports dropping their mandates: SFO, LAX and San Diego in California; Atlanta/Hartsfield; DFW and Love Field in Dallas; Charlotte; Miami International. Orlando and Fort Lauderdale in Florida; and most other U.S. airports. Here are today's other developments: Rails and masks Amtrak, the federally owned national rail system, dropped its mask mandate yesterday shortly after the Florida judge voided the CDC mask order. BART in San Francisco, the T in Boston, the Washington Metro system and NJ Transit in New Jersey also dropped mandates. SEPTA, which operates Philadelphia's mass-transit system, dropped its mask mandate yesterday, ironic since Philadelphia re-imposed an indoor mask mandate at the same time. However, the MTA, which operates the New York City subways and New York's commuter lines, is retaining its mask mandate. The CTA in Chicago says masks will continue to be required. Washington State Ferries dropped its mask rule last night, but most Seattle-area transit authorities kept their mask mandates in place. For a few hours at least. Then they, too, dropped the mask rules. Holiday crowds The TSA says about 8.7 million passed through U.S. airport checkpoints over the holiday weekend (Friday-Monday). That's 92.7% of comparative volume in 2019. It is also more than 21 times the volume over a similar period in 2020, at the height of the first wave of Coronavirus in the United States. Good numbers, comparatively There were 235,595 new Coronavirus cases in the United States during the last week, according to Johns Hopkins. That is down a bit from the previous week. The death toll was 2,973, down about 20% from the previous week. Ride without masks Uber and Lyft have lifted their mask mandates and you'll no longer be required to wear a mask while riding. Europe crawls upward There were an average of 24,534 daily flights in Europe skies during the week ended April 17. According to Eurocontrol, which operates the continent's air traffic control, that's up 1.4% from the previous week. Facing the music The Supreme Court said it would not stop the Air Force from disciplining a reservist for his refusal to be vaccinated. TheHill.com has details. The Great White North Air Canada said it flew 100,701 passengers on April 15, the first time the carrier passed the 100,000 mark since March 13, 2020. Yahoo!Finance Canada has details. Barrels and gallons The average price of gasoline in the United States today is $4.101 a gallon, says the AAA. That's up a few cents from before Easter. Meanwhile, Brent Crude oil, which most closely tracks the price of jet fuel, settled at $107.25 today, down a few bucks from before Easter. Coronavirus Update: Monday, April 18, 2022
A federal judge in Florida voided the Biden Administration's travel mask mandate earlier today and airlines almost immediately lifted their requirements to wear masks on their flights. The ruling does not necessarily affect international flights operated by U.S. airlines, however. Carriers will still be required to enforce a mask mandate if the country you're flying to/from continues to require masks.The 59-page decision from Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle stems from a case last year brought by a conservative group opposed to the mandate. The judge decided that the CDC overstepped its legal authority by imposing a mask mandate and had done it without the required public-comment period. She added that the CDC's power over "sanitation is limited to cleaning measures" and "wearing a mask cleans nothing." Yet the decision says nothing about the TSA, which is the federal agency that imposed the mask mandate on airlines, airports, trains and other forms of interstate public transportation.
Shortly after the ruling, the Biden Administration said the ruling was "disappointing" and indicated that the CDC, the TSA, Homeland Security and the Justice Department were reviewing their options. However, the TSA said it would stop enforcing its mask mandate and that opened the floodgates of change at the airlines.
Alaska Airlines was the first to publicly drop a mask requirement. United Airlines shortly after said "masks are no longer required on domestic flights, select international flights or at U.S. airports." Delta followed a few minutes later. After a short gap, the other airlines chimed in. JetBlue Airways, which was the first carrier to impose its own mask mandate in May, 2020, was one of the last airlines heard from today. It said simply that "mask wearing will now be optional."
Ironically--but perhaps not coincidental--Mizelle's ruling came on the day that the mask mandate had been set to expire. But it was extended last week by the TSA for an additional 15 days and was currently due to expire on May 3.
THE BACKGROUND
President Joe Biden issued an executive order on January 21, 2021, calling for masking on public transportation. The CDC called for a mask mandate shortly afterward and required "individuals wear masks on conveyances and at stations, ports, or similar transportation hubs." On January 31, 2021, the TSA ordered such a mask mandate, effective on February 2, 2021. It was originally due to expire on May 11, 2021. The effective date was extended several times and had been expected to expire today, April 18. However, the TSA ordered a 15-day extension late last week. The original 2021 TSA announcement is here. Predating the federal mandate, all major airlines and virtually all airports had issued their own mandates as early as May, 2020. On March 23, 2022, airline executives asked the Biden Administration to lift the mask mandate. Here's the letter the CEOs and the industry sent. Judge Mizell was appointed to the federal court in 2020 by President Donald Trump. She was deemed "not qualified" by the ABA. She was a post-election, lame-duck appointment and Trump's youngest (33 years old) and least qualified (only eight years out of law school) choice. She had virtually no trial experience. She did have four clerkships, however, including one with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. The FAA has issued millions of dollars' worth of fines on dozens of travelers who ignored the mask mandate and/or created other in-flight disruptions. Virtually none of the fines have been paid and there doesn't seem to be any mechanism for collecting them.Coronavirus Update: Weekend, April 16-17, 2022
American Airlines says that it will resume alcohol sales in coach, the last U.S. carrier to do so. It set the restoration for Monday (April 18), when the in-flight mask mandate was due to expire before being extended last week through May 3. American says the extension of the mandate again will not affect its plans for Monday. NBC News has more details. Here are this weekend's other developments. The inevitable lawsuit Philadelphia on Monday reinstates the city's indoor mask mandate for public places. That has naturally drawn a lawsuit. The CBS TV affiliate in Philadelphia has details. Fewer riders, but more crime Crime is rising on subway systems throughout the country. It correlates with fewer riders on those systems. In other words, fewer passenger eyes on the prize means more bad deeds can be committed. The Washington Post has details. Not a Shanghai surprise China has admitted to the first Coronavirus deaths since it locked down Shanghai and its 23 million residents. Agence France Presse has details. Mandate madness As more firms drop their vaccine mandates, more employees become enraged by the decisions. Bloomberg News has details. Tampa's time Hotels nationwide registered an average room occupancy rate of 66.4% for the week ended April 9. Lodging statisticians STR says that Tampa hotels had an average occupancy rate of 84%, 6.2 points higher than a similar week in 2019. At the other end of the hotel scale, Minneapolis registered an average occupancy of 51.4%, down nearly 30 points from 2019.