With Omicron’s subvariant on the rise again in the United States, which was not expected to happen, it leads to the question of if masks will be returning in importance and if a mask mandate will be implemented in the near future. Recently, Columbia University is requiring that their students wear masks again in the classroom as well as in buildings on campus. Public health experts in the United States have started to warn school administration in major schools as well as government officials that the numbers could continue to increase in the U.S. 

Several dozen states in the U.S. reported that there was an increase in cases within the last week or so, however, hospitalizations have not increased. In addition to Columbia reinstating their mask mandate on campus, other schools like Johns Hopkins University  and Georgetown University are also reinstating their mask mandates. In addition, U.S. health officials also extended the mask mandate for travelers and on airlines, trains, and transit organizations in the U.S. 

Lastly, the U.S. CDC issued an order that requires masks in interstate transportation and other avenues of transportation as well. Ultimately, the TSA is going to be instructed to enforce this order, which was all prompted by the significant increase in COVID-19 cases. Mask mandates being reinstated again on airlines specifically are of concern as well, not only because of the rise in COVID-19 cases but also because of the issues that the mask mandates have caused in airlines and other areas of transportation. Passengers have significantly become more belligerent and combative against the mask mandates and the prevalence of passenger incidents have significantly increased since the beginning of the pandemic.