It can be hot and uncomfortable to wear a mask on a subway platform. However, one top MTA official says the mask mandate to ride subways and buses is here to stay, at least for now.

During an appearance on “Mornings On 1,” Sarah Feinberg, the interim president of the New York City Transit Authority, acknowledged while wearing a mask in the subway system is hot and annoying, due to federal regulations, all riders must wear masks while on public transportation.

And Feinberg believes it should stay that way - for now.

“It’s still a confined space,” Feinberg said. “There are those out there who haven’t been vaccinated. They may not be able to be vaccinated because they have some pre-existing medical condition. Let’s just protect those folks.”

Nadia Fegrouche of Astoria felt a moment of immense relief when she was finally allowed to lower her mask, leaving the Steinway Street subway station in Astoria.

“Much better,” she said.

While she was on the platform at the Roosevelt Avenue subway station, Fegrouche had described wearing her mask as being worse than being in a hot kitchen.

“It’s hard to breathe,” she said. “That’s the problem. In your kitchen you can breathe, but here it’s difficult.”

Sterling Moore of Crown Heights disagrees with the mandate. He wasn’t wearing a mask while riding the subway, and believes those who have been vaccinated should have the option to take it off.

“I’m just not wearing it,” Moore said. “I’ve been vaccinated though. I’m not wearing a mask on my face if I feel it’s too hot.”

But for Fegrouche, who contracted COVID-19 early in the pandemic, seeing others in masks on a subway train is a comfort.

“I feel comfortable when I see people doing masks, more safety,” she said.

Looking ahead, Feinberg says until herd immunity has been reached, concerns about the Delta variant make it even important to keep the mask mandate in place.