Some South Florida Travelers Happy To Take Masks Off After National Mandate Voided: 'Makes You Feel Better'
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – For the first time in a very long time, Rose Stanley and her kids were relaxed hopping a flight at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood international on Tuesday, hours after the airlines lifted mask requirements.
"I like it because one time we almost got kicked off a plane because of a mask dispute," she said.
"It makes you feel better, like COVID is gone," her daughter Patience remarked.
COVID may not be entirely gone, but with cases plummeting and a federal judge's ruling striking down the travel mask mandate, masks are becoming increasingly optional.
In South Florida on Tuesday, Broward County updated mask rules, saying masks are "strongly encouraged" but making them optional at government buildings, courthouses, on buses, at libraries and Port Everglades.
It's a similar story in Miami-Dade County.
"Masks are optional and recommended but if you are sick and tested positive it's important to take responsibility to protect people around you," said Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
Rideshare companies lifted mask requirements too. But Uber driver Johnny Ductsn says he'll still mask up.
"When passengers get in, I put it on. But when they get out, I take it off," he said.
Most South Florida hospitals said Tuesday that masks continue to be mandatory at their facilities. And while most cruise lines lifted mask requirements in February, COVID testing before sailing is still required.