Sheriff who said NC mask mandate was ‘unenforceable’ tests positive for COVID-19
A North Carolina sheriff who previously referred to the governor’s statewide mask mandate as “unenforceable” tested positive for the coronavirus before Thanksgiving, a spokesperson told McClatchy News.
Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page received a positive test result the week of Nov. 16 and has been quarantining while working from home, Lt. Kevin Suthard said in an email. Suthard declined to comment on Page’s symptoms and whether there have been other confirmed COVID-19 cases linked to the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office.
“He is doing very well and is expected to return to work tomorrow,” Suthard said of the sheriff on Monday. “Today is the last day of his quarantine requirement.”
BJ Barnes — the mayor of Summerfield and former sheriff of Guilford County — said in a Facebook post Saturday that he spoke with Page, who reported experiencing nausea, hoarseness and a sore throat for a few days and then “it was gone.”
“Sam did everything he should have and still ended up with the virus,” Barnes wrote. “I say this to demonstrate that there is not a one size fits all in preventing the virus or its impact on the person.”
Page has issued several public statements since the onset of the pandemic regarding his stance on Gov. Roy Cooper’s COVID-19 restrictions.
In May, he signed a resolution from the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association pushing for the governor to allow indoor worship services with restrictions “similar to those allowing local retail businesses to operate.”
“As your Sheriff of more than twenty (20) years, I have taken an Oath that I would support, maintain, and defend the United States Constitution for the citizens of this county,” Page wrote in a statement on Facebook. “As the Sheriff of Rockingham County, neither my deputies nor I will violate our Oath and interfere or prevent church goers in exercising their Constitutional right to gather and freely worship as established in the First Amendment.”
He later said the sheriff’s office “will NOT be citing or arresting individuals for not following the face mask mandate,” citing guidance from the N.C. Sheriffs’ Association.
But Page issued a follow-up statement encouraging residents to still follow the three W’s — wear a face covering, wait 6 feet apart and wash your hands.
In a letter sent July 1, the sheriff also asked for the governor’s assistance in providing masks to members of his community.
“While the Governor’s individual mask mandate under Executive Order 147 is unenforceable criminally, many individuals choose to wear them for their protection and I fully support that,” Page wrote. “I wear one myself, that’s my choice. However, I worried about those in my county who want to wear a mask, but have limited financial means, are on a fixed budget or who otherwise couldn’t get a mask.”
The N.C. Office of Emergency Management helped Page procure 20,000 free reusable cloth masks for Rockingham County, the sheriff said.
