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Should you wear masks on public transportation? CDC urges Americans in new guidance

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a new guidance urging passengers on trains, planes and other public transportation to wear face masks to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The CDC wrote in the guidance that traveling by public transportation increases the risk of spreading the coronavirus.

“Given how interconnected most transportation systems are across the nation and the world, local transmission can grow quickly into interstate and international transmission when infected persons travel on public conveyances without wearing a mask and with others who are not wearing masks,” the CDC wrote.

The risk of spreading the virus increases when traveling on public transportation because people are in close contact with others and exposed to frequently touched surfaces, according to the CDC guidance.

The White House previously blocked the CDC from implementing a federal mandate that would require all travelers to wear face coverings on public transportation, The New York Times reported. The mandate would have been the strictest federal mandate yet to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The new guidelines come as cases are rising across the U.S. More than 8.2 million in the U.S. have tested positive for the coronavirus as of Tuesday, Oct. 20, according to Johns Hopkins University, and 220,000 have died nationwide.

As of Friday, COVID-19 cases are rising by 5% or more in 38 states, according to a CNBC analysis of Johns Hopkins University data. There is an average of around 55,000 new cases daily, which is more than a 16% increase from a week ago.

Most U.S. airports and public transit systems, as well as rideshare services Uber and Lyft, require all workers and passengers to wear facial coverings.

The White House also opposed a bill in Congress in July that required all public transit workers and passengers to wear face coverings, CNBC reported. The White House Office of Management and Budget said the bill was “overly restrictive” and “such decisions should be left to states, local governments, transportation systems and public health leaders.”