CDC recommends riders, operators wear masks on trains

(Source: Progressive Railroading 10/20/20)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday issued an interim guidance strongly recommending passenger train and subway riders, operators and other crew members wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The guidance recommends people wear masks while waiting for trains or working at stations, and while traveling on trains. 

The guidance also recommends operators refuse boarding to anyone not wearing a mask and require all people onboard to wear masks for the duration of travel.

“Broad and routine utilization of masks on our transportation systems will protect Americans and provide confidence that we can once again travel more safely even during this pandemic,” CDC officials said in the interim guidance. 

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, CDC officials said.