Will NC make face coverings mandatory? Officials are strongly considering it.
North Carolina’s current reopening phase is due to expire in eight days, and Gov. Roy Cooper and DHHS secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen on Thursday said getting more residents wearing face coverings is of utmost importance to slow the coronavirus spread.
“We need more people to wear masks, and we need to figure out the best way to do that.” Cooper said during a press briefing.
To that end, a statewide order requiring the wearing face coverings could be announced next week.
“We’re examining the issues surrounding a statewide requirement of face masks and some local governments have put requirements into effect already,” Cooper said. “Regardless of whether it’s a law or store requirement, wearing a face covering when you’re around others slows the spread of the virus.
“This is a low-cost, low-tech way to protect ourselves and our communities. It’s an important way to slow the spread of the virus without hurting the economy,” he said.
Cooper said mask mandates need to have some kind of enforcement. He said they appreciate businesses and retail stores that require masks and enforce it.
He also said public service announcements about the importance of wearing masks are coming out soon.
Cooper said that there are better results in mask-wearing “when you can convince the public heart and soul that this is going to be a good thing to do.”
The state’s number of reported lab-confirmed cases and patients hospitalized by COVID-19 continues to rise sharply, which Cooper and Cohen both said concern them. The state is currently in Phase Two of Cooper’s three-stage reopening plan with this phase due to expire June 26.
“We do not want to go backward,” Cooper said. “What we want is for people to do more in wearing masks and social distancing. We can work together to slow the spread of the virus and at the same time, strengthen our economy. That’s going to take every single North Carolinian.”
Importance of wearing a mask, face covering
The state announced Thursday that 1,333 new reported lab-confirmed cases had been discovered, bringing the state’s total to 48,188 since the virus was first found in North Carolina in early March. A new single-day record of 857 patients hospitalized was reached. The death toll grew to 1,175.
“We know the increases we are seeing are not due to increased testing alone,” Cohen said.
That, Cooper and Cohen said, is why getting everyone to wear face coverings while out in public is important.
“If you have COVID-19, you may not know it yet,” Cohen said. “You could give it to someone else without having any symptoms.”
Several municipalities, including Orange and Durham counties plus the city of Raleigh and the town of Knightdale in Wake County, have implemented new mandatory face covering rules. The town of Garner recommended them but is not making them mandatory.
NC reopening plans
Cooper said he will announce a comprehensive plan next week about the state’s restrictions and reopening, and if the next phase will start on June 26 as scheduled. A decision on whether or not to make face coverings mandatory could be part of that announcement. Cooper told reporters Thursday he didn’t know what day next week the announcement will be made, and will continue to monitor data over the weekend.
The decision making comes as state lawmakers continue to pressure Cooper to relax restrictions to limit economic damage.
The Republican-led state legislature has passed multiple reopening bills, with one waiting on Cooper’s desk that would reopen gyms and bars. Another that already passed the House would reopen skating rinks and bowling alleys. And on Thursday, a new bill emerged in committee that would reopen amusement parks and other venues. Cooper previously vetoed a bill that would have reopened bars and increased restaurant seating capacity.
“I have concerns about these legislative mandates. It’s pretty easy to vote for a bill that lifts restrictions when you don’t have to deal with the consequences,” Cooper said about the reopening bills.
Reporting COVID-19 outbreaks
While congregate living facilities and childcare centers are mandated to report coronavirus outbreaks, many other businesses, including restaurants, are not. So most employers are not required to publicly announce if employees or patrons may have exposed others to the virus.
Cohen said contact tracers do the detective work of finding out where someone with COVID-19 may have exposed others. She said it is important for people to consider their own personal risk and the type of job they have.
“Go get testing even if you’re not having symptoms,” Cohen said Thursday, if you work in a high-risk industry like restaurants and grocery stores.
Testing all prison inmates
Cooper and Todd Ishee, the state’s commissioner of prisons, announced Thursday COVID-19 testing has begun on all inmates in the state prison system.
Ishee said it will take 60 days to test all 31,200 offenders throughout prison systems and will cost $3.3 million. The Department of Prisons had tested 2,809 offenders in its system as of Thursday with 717 testing positive for COVID-19.
Another 635 are presumed recovered per Centers for Disease Control and state DHHS guidelines.
“We’ve done some mass testing at prisons with significant outbreaks of this awful virus, but now we are going to test them all, the entire offender population,” Ishee said.
Tests are already being conducted on all incoming prisoners who arrive from county jails.
From this point forward, offenders being transferred between state facilities will be tested before they are transferred or, in lieu of testing, the prisoner will be placed in a 14-day quarantine.
This story was originally published June 18, 2020 at 2:36 PM with the headline "Will NC make face coverings mandatory? Officials are strongly considering it.."
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