White House coronavirus czar Ashish Jha said it is possible federal health officials will extend the mask mandate for transportation yet again  as the deadline swiftly approaches, claiming the decision will be based on “evidence” and “science.”

“This is a CDC decision and I think it is absolutely on the table,” Jha said during a Monday appearance on NBC’s TODAY, asserting federal health officials are going to make a decision “based on the framework that the CDC scientists create.”

“We’re going to see that framework come out, I think, in the next few days,” he continued.
“And based on that, we’re going to want to be guided by this decision. Throughout the entire pandemic, we’ve wanted to make decisions based on the evidence and science. And that is what I expect we’ll do again this week,” he claimed.

It remains entirely unclear how the decision to keep Americans masked up on federal transportation is based on science, as studies continue to show basic drugstore masks are not effective at blocking aerosols.

Ashish Jha said any mask mandate decision will be based on “evidence” and “science.” (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

“Loosely woven cloth products provide the least protection, layered finely woven products offer more protection, well-fitting disposable surgical masks and KN95s offer even more protection, and well- fitting NIOSH-approved respirators (including N95s) offer the highest level of protection,” the CDC admitted.

Not to mention that Dr. Anthony Fauci, who once dismissed masks as a “paranoid” tool, admitted in an email at the start of the pandemic that drugstore masks are “not really effective in keeping out virus, which is small enough to pass through the material.”

The federal mask requirement is currently set to expire on April 18, although it has been extended time and time again.

While no states in the country are under statewide mask mandates, Philadelphia is standing as one of the first major cities to bring back an indoor mask requirement, beginning April 18.

 The debate over whether officials finally lift the federal mask mandate for transportation comes over a year after President Biden pitched “just” 100 days of masking for the American people.