Uber eliminates the mandatory use of masks on its journeys in the United States

 The on-demand transportation platform Uber announced on Tuesday the elimination of the obligation to wear a mask on its journeys in the United States, one day after the justice system overturned the obligation to wear a mask on planes and trains in the country.

In a notice on its website, Uber indicated that starting this Tuesday passengers and drivers are no longer required to wear a mask, but recalled that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) still recommend them to people with risk factors.

The San Francisco-based company also indicated that “many people” still feel safer wearing a mask for personal or family health reasons and asked to be respectful of these preferences.

THE MEASURE COMES ONE DAY AFTER A JUDGE VOIDED A CDC MANDATE

Uber said in its notice that if a passenger or driver feels uncomfortable at any point about the other’s decision not to wear a mask, “they can always cancel the trip.”

The use of masks in Uber had been mandatory since the start of the pandemic.

The company’s decision comes a day after the United States stopped requiring the use of masks onboard planes and other means of public transport, as well as in airports and stations.

Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, nominated by the Donald Trump government for the district court in Tampa, Florida, considered that the CDC order exceeded the legal authority of that national public health agency of the United States.

The federal government had recently renewed this obligation to wear masks on public transportation until at least May 3, amid a resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the BA.2 subvariant.