Could Chapel Hill require coronavirus face masks? A citizens group asks for that step
Face masks are common at some Chapel Hill businesses but not everywhere, and a group of residents wants the town to act before nearly 30,000 UNC students return in August.
The residents also want some clear rules for student gatherings, including at downtown bars and house parties that could potentially spread COVID-19.
“I work with students, and we know what’s going to happen,” said Masks4ChapelHill organizer Meg Miller, who is a house mother at a UNC fraternity. “They are not going to social distance; they don’t follow the rules. That’s part of going to college.”
Masks4ChapelHill members reached out to the Chapel Hill Town Council about requiring masks in grocery stores and shared indoor spaces, Miller and organizer Ben Lazarus said. They want businesses and building owners to enforce the requirement.
“I want it to happen, but at this point, with the situation at the White House, I just don’t have a whole lot of hope,” Miller said. “My feeling is they (college students) are going to come back, and it’s going to be a disaster. It’s going to be a trainwreck.”
Lazarus has urged supporters through Facebook to speak out at the Town Council’s virtual meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday (May 27).
The meeting is a work session, which means the council won’t take petitions from the public or vote on items. However, the council has made time for public comment at previous work sessions.
Lazarus noted in a recent email to the council that many people who don’t wear a mask cite earlier statements by health officials about how masks do little to protect the wearer from the coronavirus. More recently, health officials have emphasized that masks protect others from a person who might have the virus but not necessarily have symptoms.
Legal concerns, enforcement
The town is pushing a “strong mandate” that people wear masks in indoor spaces and when they can’t keep a physical distance, Mayor Pam Hemminger said. The town’s Safer for Everyone in Chapel Hill campaign was launched Wednesday with that goal, she said.
The town’s mask compliance rate has been good, but if infections rise, the town could take other steps, she said.
“You’re not going to arrest somebody. You’re not going to fine somebody,” Hemminger said. “So all you can do is really educate folks to do this, and then if you’re not providing masks to everyone, how do you mandate something that you’re not willing to make sure that everyone has access to?”
The county’s commissioners chair and mayors have talked about requiring masks, including with the county health director, Hemminger said. Orange County’s extended stay-at-home order does require masks for employees of retail stores, tattoo shops, restaurants, and personal care businesses. However, businesses can choose whether their customers should wear masks.
“We’ve heard from multiple communities across the nation about those that have actually mandated it, had really severe consequences for doing that where people came together and protested,” Hemminger said. “Certain community members felt threatened. It was just very untenable.”
It’s possible the requirement could make some people angry or prompt a legal challenge, Lazarus said, but that is a “small price to pay for saving the lives of our most vulnerable citizens.”
Chapel Hill, Carrboro getting masks
Meanwhile, Chapel Hill and Carrboro are trying to make masks available to everyone in their communities.
Chapel Hill’s town staff has packed 4,000 disposable masks since mid-May and ordered 5,000 masks through the county, Loryn Clark, executive director for housing and community, said in a May 22 email to the town manager.
Town staff handed out 700 masks at last week’s food bank distribution, she said, and are giving masks to public-housing residents this week. The public might be able to get cloth masks as soon as next week from the fire stations, Hemminger said.
In Carrboro, there are about 11,000 masks on the way, Police Chief Walter Horton said Tuesday, including about 4,000 masks ordered through Orange County Emergency Management. They’re also working with community groups and businesses that want to donate masks, including Face Mask Warriors, Sports Endeavors in Hillsborough, the Mayors for Masks initiative and Chapel Hill Zen, he said.
The masks will include a letter that explains how to wear, wash and dispose of them, Horton said. They could be distributed at the police and fire stations, Town Hall, and through community groups, schools and apartment complexes.
In Durham, the county commissioners approved $21,525 Tuesday night for face coverings being provided by the Cover Durham Project. The city of Durham and Durham Public Schools are also supporting the project, which is working to distribute tens of thousands of free masks, the county said in a news release Wednesday.
Durham, NJ requirements
Durham has required residents and visitors to wear face masks and coverings since April 20 in grocery stores, on buses and in other spaces. The order allows both store-bought and homemade masks, similar to what Lazarus suggested for Chapel Hill. The town could encourage residents to sew masks for their neighbors who don’t have one, he said.
“The longer we wait to impose a requirement, the more people will die needlessly in our community,” Lazarus said. “By following the (New Jersey) model, individuals without masks can obtain service if they follow additional safety procedures.”
In April, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy required customers and workers at essential businesses to wear face masks. The rules do not apply to children age 2 or younger, or adults who have a medical reason for not wearing a mask.
Employees are charged with enforcing the rules by denying entry to customers who refuse to wear a mask. Businesses that sell medical supplies, prescriptions or food can offer pickup or delivery instead to those customers.
There is no penalty if someone chooses not to wear a mask in Durham.
This story was originally published May 27, 2020 at 3:24 PM with the headline "Could Chapel Hill require coronavirus face masks? A citizens group asks for that step."
