Major U.S. airlines have announced a requirement for passengers aboard their aircraft to wear face coverings or masks beginning on 4 May 2020 in an attempt to combat the transmission of COVID-19. Delta and United Airlines, as well as JetBlue, will make such coverings mandatory on 4 May, while the requirement for passengers traveling with Frontier Air goes into effect on 8 May. Additionally, American Airlines will require travelers to wear masks beginning on 11 May. Children and individuals with health conditions which prevent them from wearing masks are exempt from the requirement.
In a separate development, hundreds of protesters gathered at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing on 30 April to demand that the state legislature allow the existing emergency declarations — enacted to combat the COVID-19 pandemic — to expire in order to allow businesses to reopen. A number of participants in the “American Patriot Rally,” which the Michigan United for Liberty group organized, were carrying high-powered firearms, and some attempted to enter the Senate floor before law enforcement officers blocked them. However, no violence occurred during the event. The legislature was debating an extension to the state’s current emergency declarations at the time of the rally. Later in the day, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued executive orders to extend the emergency orders — previously slated to expire at 0000 local time (0400 UTC) on 1 May — through 28 May after the legislature failed to ratify a bill that would have renewed the declarations.
