Face masks now optional on Kansas City buses, streetcar after federal mandate lifted
Masks are no longer required on the Kansas City streetcar or buses.
On Monday, a federal judge struck down the Transportation Security Administration’s national mask mandate which had been in place since early 2021. As a result, the TSA lifted the mask mandates for public transportation, prompting a number of airlines to also drop their mask requirements.
Late Monday night, Kansas City’s Streetcar announced the change for riders. However, they said, masks and hand sanitizer will continue to be available on all streetcars for those who want it.
RideKC also announced the dropped requirement, making masks optional for its buses and transit as of Tuesday.
“Masks are optional,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas tweeted Tuesday morning. “Respect for those still wearing them should be universal.”
The CDC continues to recommend that people wear masks in areas where case counts are high and in crowded places.
Just last week, prior to the latest ruling, the CDC extended the nationwide mask requirement for airplanes and public transit until May 3 as the BA.2 omicron subvariant continued spreading.
In recent days, COVID-19 infection numbers began rising once again in the Kansas City area, but hospitals had yet to see an influx of sick patients.
Johnson County health officials reported an increase in BA.2 cases on Thursday. The Star has previously reported that this strain is unlikely to cause a “wave” as large as previous variants.
The Star’s Natalie Wallington contributed.
