Masks will no longer be required on Bloomington Transit and IU buses after a judge struck down the federal mask mandate for public transportation Monday.
Bloomington Transit General Manager John Connell said riders who wish to continue to wear a mask may do so.
“We do have a supply of mass still in stock, and we will distribute those to those [to] any individual that want one,” Connell said. “But it's not a requirement in any longer.”
The judge’s ruling means masks will no longer be required in airports or on airplanes as well. The TSA’s mask requirement was scheduled to expire May 3.
“It's been a long two years and it has created a lot of challenges for our bus operators in forcing the mask mandate,” Connell continued.
Despite mask mandates being lifted nationally, there has been an increase in cases of the BA.2 subvariant of the COVID-19 virus. It now makes up more than 85% of U.S. cases.
