The town of Knightdale is joining Raleigh in requiring face coverings in an attempt to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Knightdale Mayor James Roberson, with authorization from the town council, signed a proclamation Thursday that states the requirement in the Wake County town would go into effect on Sunday at 5 p.m. It applies to anyone in public or private settings who are in contact with people who are not household members.

Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said Wednesday that the wearing of face coverings would be required in the city starting Friday at 4 p.m.

The Raleigh and Knightdale proclamations list places such as grocery stores, businesses, parking lots, sidewalks and pharmacies.

The town of Garner said Thursday it would “strongly recommend” face coverings in public but would not make them mandatory. Wake Forest officials said they would “strongly encourage” the use of masks in public.

The Johnston County board of commissioners announced Thursday that it would encourage face coverings in the county. Chairman Tom Godwin, in a statement, said, “With the increase of positive cases of COVID-19 in our county, it is extremely important for us to remain vigilant in our efforts to slow the spread of the virus.”

Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, has said the use of face coverings was “incredibly important” in trying to combat the spread of COVID-19 and that recent studies reveal the inexpensive preventative measure has been effective in doing that.

Gov. Roy Cooper said Thursday the state was considering a statewide measure requiring face coverings.

“It’s a piece of protection,” he said. “This piece of protection may save your life or the lives of loved ones.”

The state has had record totals of hospitalizations from COVID-19 in recent days, with 857 people currently in the state’s hospitals because of the virus, the DHHS reported.

This story was originally published June 18, 2020 at 2:21 PM.

Chip Alexander

The News & Observer

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In more than 40 years at The N&O, Chip Alexander has covered the N.C. State, UNC, Duke and East Carolina beats, and now is in his 15th season on the Carolina Hurricanes beat. Alexander, who has won numerous writing awards at the state and national level, covered the Hurricanes’ move to North Carolina in 1997 and was a part of The N&O’s coverage of the Canes’ 2006 Stanley Cup run.