How President Biden’s COVID-19 mask orders impact Macon and Warner Robins

President Joe Biden issued two mask mandates that went into effect this week requiring people to wear masks in federal buildings and while using most forms of public and commercial transportation.

The first executive order requires people to follow CDC mask guidelines inside of federal buildings and on federal property, including courthouses, post offices, national parks and federal monuments. For Bibb and Houston County residents, that means wearing a mask in:

• The federal courthouse in Macon
• Robins Air Force Base
• The Warner Robins and Macon Social Security Offices
• The Macon VA Clinic
• The federal bankruptcy court on Cherry Street in Macon
• Local post offices

Most of these facilities required face masks already, including Robins AFB, which implemented a mask requirement almost a year ago and will comply with the most recent executive order, according to a statement.

Masks on planes, trains and buses

The second order requires people to wear masks when using most commercial and public transportation systems. That includes the Macon-Bibb County Transit Authority (MTA), which operates public buses in Macon.

The MTA has had a mask mandate in effect since last March that requires patrons to wear a mask that covers their mouth and nose before entering a bus or while on MTA property. Under the new federal mandate, people who don’t comply to the MTA mask policy will be removed from the bus at the next stop or from the Transfer or Terminal Stations.

Transit authority spokesperson Jami Gaudet said that the federal mask mandate validated the authority’s efforts to ensure the safety of its workers and passengers. Only a handful of MTA employees have contracted the coronavirus, she said.

“We did not have our first COVID case among front line people — which is dispatch supervisors, bus drivers and garage personnel — until three and a half weeks ago,” Gaudet said. “It just gives credence to what we thought 11 months ago.”

Ridership declines during pandemic

Gaudet said that shortly after the pandemic began, the number of bus riders plummeted more than 35% for fixed routes and 15% for paratransit. But buses have continued to run every day. That’s important because Maconites rely on public transportation to get to doctor’s appointments, work and school, Gaudent said. And the authority has seen a slight uptick in riders in 2021.

The MTA has closed and reopened the Terminal Station and Transit Station on multiple occasions as coronavirus cases rose.

“It’s just adapting and addressing each challenge as it arises,” she said. “It is wanting to keep the buses safe, but wanting to keep transit moving.”

CDC officials have pushed for a mask mandate specific to public transportation since before Biden took office. On Jan. 29, the CDC issued an 11-page order for the transportation mask mandate.

“Requiring masks on our transportation systems will protect Americans and provide confidence that we can once again travel safely even during this pandemic,” the order read

This story was originally published February 4, 2021 at 5:00 AM.