Local doctors discuss the importance of wearing masks on public transportation

April 25th, 2022

Travelers enter a security line at Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport in Providence, R.I., Tuesday, April 19, 2022. A federal judge's decision to strike down a national mask mandate was met with cheers on some airplanes but also concern about whether it's really time to end one of the most visible vestiges of the COVID-19 pandemic. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Dr. Dhaval Desai, an internal medicine/pediatrics specialist in inpatient medicine and the director of hospital medicine at Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital, says the pandemic is not over yet and Georgia’s health care system can’t handle another surge.

During a recent edition of “Closer Look,” Desai and Dr. Jayne Morgan, a cardiologist and the clinical director for Piedmont Healthcare’s COVID-19 Task Force, talked with program host Rose Scott about a federal judge’s decision to strike down the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) nationwide order that required people to wear masks on public transportation.

“Masking did work and it still can work if it’s done right,” said Desai.

During the conversation, the two doctors further discussed the ongoing impact of the CDC’s earlier messaging about mask requirements, the steps travelers should take this spring and summer and the path forward to mitigating the spread of COVID-19.

“We’ve got a long way to go to understanding this virus, understanding public health measures and, certainly, we’ve got a lot of evidence that masks were very effective and they should continue to be in our armamentarium of tools,” said Dr. Morgan.