The U.S. government has decided to issue a warning for air travel passengers ahead of the upcoming Memorial Day weekend — wear your mask and behave yourself.
What did the U.S. say?
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Tuesday that Americans who are traveling for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend need to wear their face masks and act nice to other people, according to Bloomberg.
- “Let me be clear in underscoring something,” Mayorkas said, according to Bloomberg. “It is a federal mandate that one must wear a mask in an airport, in the modes of public transportation, on the airplane itself — and we will not tolerate behavior that violates the law.”
There was no mention of what the punishment would be. But, per Bloomberg, the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration can fine people who violate the law.
Enjoy the weekend, CDC says
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recently said all Americans who are fully vaccinated should try to enjoy their holiday weekend.
- “Thanks to vaccines, tens of millions of Americans are able to get back to something closer to normal: visiting friends and family,” Walensky said, according to The Washington Post. “These are the events we missed over the last year, and we are now safe … when we are vaccinated.”
How many people are traveling right now?
The Transportation Security Administration said 1.8 million people traveled over the past weekend through air travel. This was the highest number since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.