STARTING yesterday, Americans are required to wear face masks while traveling on domestic public transport as part of a national strategy to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The mask-wearing rule which went into effect at 11:59 p.m. Monday makes refusal to wear a mask a violation of federal law, enforced by the Transportation Security Administration and other federal, state and local authorities.

The rule, issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), applies to passengers on airplanes, trains, subways, buses, taxis and ride-shares. And it extends to waiting areas such as airports, train platforms and subway stations.

The mandate builds on an order announced by President Joe Biden, who on his first day in office unveiled a national strategy in order to change the course of the COVID crisis in the country, which is the worst hit in the world by the pandemic.

As of Monday evening local time, the United States has recorded more than 26.3 million COVID-19 cases and over 443,000 related deaths, showed a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Health experts have attributed U.S. failure to control the virus to political polarization, a rejection of science and an absence of a national strategy under the Donald Trump administration.

Increasing mask-wearing across the United States by just 10 percent would significantly curb the transmission of the coronavirus, found a study published Jan. 19 in the Lancet Digital Health journal Studies.

(Xinhua)