An extension on the federal mask mandate on airplanes and in airports is being considered, White House COVID-19 coordinator Ashish Jha said on April 11, even as  cases and hospitalizations around the United States have dropped significantly in recent months. Jha, who was named to the position last month after Jeff Zients’s departure, told the NBC’s “Today” show that an extension of the monthslong mask mandate is “absolutely on the table.” Mask mandates have been dropped nearly everywhere, including in Democratic-led cities earlier this year. The decision on whether to keep the mask mandate intact will ultimately be made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Jha said, adding that the agency is “developing a scientific framework” in the near future. When pressed about the decision, Jha said that CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky will “make her decision based on the framework that the CDC scientists create.” In March, the …