See which Triangle counties and towns are keeping mask mandates in place, and why
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See which Triangle counties and towns are keeping mask mandates in place, and why
Mask mandates will be sticking around in parts of the Triangle as local officials say key COVID-19 metrics haven’t yet reached levels needed to lift requirements.
Counties including Wake, Durham and Orange, and cities including Raleigh and Cary issued emergency orders in August requiring face coverings to be worn in all indoor public spaces. Local officials say they have been reviewing metrics used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that indicate the level of community spread to determine when it is safe for mandates to be rescinded.
Those metrics include the percentage of new tests that are positive and the number of new cases per 100,000 people.
Cary announced Thursday that it would end its mandate Friday at 12:01 a.m., as cases decline.
But Wake County, which issued its own mask mandate that applies to unincorporated areas and five municipalities that signed onto it, said on Friday it was extending its mandate until community spread dropped to the county’s target level.
And Raleigh, which issued a separate mask mandate in August, is keeping its requirements in place for the time being as well.
Mandates issued by other counties and municipalities throughout the Triangle are in effect indefinitely, and officials said they plan to keep masking requirements in place until their jurisdictions reach lower levels of community transmission.
In mid-August, when counties across the Triangle and North Carolina put mask mandates in place, all of the state’s 100 counties had high community spread, according to the CDC.
More than two months later, new cases and hospitalizations are dropping in all three counties, but Wake and Durham still have high community transmission, and Orange has substantial community transmission, according to the CDC.
The News & Observer asked county and municipal leaders about their emergency orders requiring face coverings to be worn indoors, and what levels of community spread need to be reached before masks can be taken off.
Wake County
Wake extended its mask mandate on Friday with a new order that will stay in effect until the level of community transmission drops to the county’s target level.
Even though the percentage of positive tests has fallen to 3.45% as of Oct. 29, transmission remains high in Wake, according to the CDC, due to the high number of daily new cases per 100,000, which is currently 104.
That number needs to fall below 50, and stay there for at least seven days, before officials can lift Wake’s mandate.
The new order continues to apply to the towns of Garner, Knightdale, Morrisville, Rolesville and Zebulon, which had signed onto the original mandate Wake issued in August.
Wake officials said they are aware many people who have been wearing face coverings to protect themselves and others may have “mask fatigue” but asked residents to keep their masks on for a little while longer.
The county’s public health team projects that under current trends, Wake could reach its designated targets to lift the mandate “in a few weeks.”
Until then, people who want to know how close Wake is to decreasing its level of community spread can access the CDC’s tracker through a link that has been added to the county’s COVID-19 website.
Raleigh
Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said the city will lift its mandate around the same time the county decides to do so, in order to “be consistent in our message.”
In an interview, Baldwin said people travel in and out of Raleigh to surrounding towns and parts of the county and so relies on guidance from Wake’s public health officials. She said she frequently reviews the county’s level of community spread with Wake officials.
Raleigh’s mask mandate has been in effect since Aug. 13.
Cary
Mayor Harold Weinbrecht said on Thursday masks will no longer be required in indoor spaces, beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 29.
However, masks are still required on GoCary buses and at the Cary Depot, which follow a federal order that’s in effect until at least Jan. 18.
“We continue to look to the science as we make these calls, and the bottom line is that the measures we’ve all taken together have had a positive outcome for our community and the health systems that serve it,” Weinbrecht said in a statement.
“I believe rescinding this order now is the next step in our journey through this pandemic,” he said. “It allows everyone in Cary the flexibility to make healthy choices that work for themselves and those closest to them as we head into the holiday season.”
Durham County
Like Wake, Durham County continues to have high community transmission.
In order to lift its mask mandate, which is currently in effect indefinitely, the county will need to see sustained levels of either moderate or low transmission, said Brenda Howerton, chair of the Durham County Board of Commissioners.
As of Oct. 28, Durham’s rate of positive tests has dropped to 2.95%, below the requirements for moderate or low transmission, but the county is still seeing 103 cases per 100,000 people, according to the CDC.
Howerton said the county health director updates the board on the county’s level of community spread every other week during board meetings.
She noted that Durham’s metrics are trending in the right direction but said the county also has to keep in mind that children under 12 have not yet been vaccinated and remain vulnerable to contracting the virus.
Vaccines are expected to be authorized for children between the ages of 5 and 11 in the coming days.Once those kids get vaccinated, that “will present even more immunity within our communities,” Howerton said in an email.
Orange County
As of Oct. 28, Orange County is the only Triangle county where transmission is not high, but is one level lower, at substantial.
The county’s mandate will likely remain in place “as long as the need for strong mitigation measures continues,” said county spokesperson Todd McGee.
The percentage of positive tests is 1.59%, and the county is currently seeing 74 cases per 100,000 people.
McGee said county officials will consider transmission rates and other relevant data before modifying or lifting the mask mandate, which is in effect indefinitely.
McGee did not provide specific levels of community spread that Orange County needs to reach before it lifts its mandate, saying that in addition to lowering community transmission, another goal of the mandate is to “ensure our hospitals do not become overrun again.”
“With flu season and cold weather approaching, people will spend more time indoors,” McGee said in an email. “A normal flu season and a sudden spike in COVID cases could once again strain our hospital capacity, putting healthcare workers and patients needing non-COVID medical care at risk.”
This story was originally published October 28, 2021 at 2:21 PM.
