Mask mandate ordered for all of Mecklenburg as surge in COVID delta cases continues
A new mask mandate goes into effect later this month for all of Mecklenburg County, following a vote Wednesday by county commissioners.
The move comes as the Charlotte region continues to grapple with skyrocketing infections and hospitalizations exacerbated by the highly contagious delta variant.
County commissioners voted 6 to 2 for requiring face coverings in all indoor public settings during a 2-hour special meeting Wednesday afternoon. Masks are required regardless of people’s vaccination status.
Commissioners Pat Cotham and Ella Scarborough cast the no votes. Commissioner Mark Jerrell was absent due to a family emergency.
Mecklenburg’s new mask mandate will go into effect Aug. 28, and it will expire when certain health thresholds are met.
“If we are going to prevent overwhelming our healthcare system, and if we are going to keep our businesses open and our economy thriving, we have to control community spread,” Mecklenburg Public Health Director Gibbie Harris said. “And the way we’re going to do that is with vaccines and with masking. It’s going to take both right now.”
Before Mecklenburg’s public health rule starts, Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles imposed a citywide mask mandate that took effect at 5 p.m. Wednesday. With county Commissioners’ Chairman George Dunlap’s support, that mandate — which spans at least the rest of the month — also covers unincorporated parts of the county.
Just 45 minutes into Charlotte’s new mandate, city officials announced that the Government Center would once again close to the public starting Thursday due to rising COVID-19 cases. This includes public meetings; people can attend and participate in public forums virtually.
Dr. Arin Piramzadian, chief medical officer for StarMed Healthcare, endorsed mask-wearing and dispelled coronavirus myths during the commissioners’ meeting. StarMed is one of Mecklenburg County’s Public Health’s key vaccine and coronavirus testing partners.
“We know the masks work, physicians have worn masks for hundreds of years. Children are taught to cover their mouths when they sneeze,” Piramzadian said. “It is literally the same concept.”
Anti-mask outcry
Dunlap emphasized that Mecklenburg is not issuing a new stay-at-home order. And the county is not mandating vaccinations either, although Dunlap said: “If it were our choice, we would do that.”
The commissioners’ vote aligns with guidance issued from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in late July that people — regardless of vaccination status — should resume wearing face coverings inside in areas experiencing high virus transmission. That covers all of the Charlotte region — and every county in the state, according to the CDC’s COVID data tracker.
The county mandate applies to unincorporated parts of Mecklenburg, along with Charlotte, Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville, Pineville, Matthews and Mint Hill. The rule is for all indoor areas, including private schools and businesses, Harris said.
Law enforcement officers, along with county public health workers, have the authority to enforce the mask mandate. People who do not comply with the rule may be convicted of a misdemeanor. Mecklenburg towns can choose to steepen their enforcement tactics.
As health director, Harris can also issue a an order of imminent hazard if necessary. That means she could temporarily shut down businesses that do not comply with the order.
Some people protested the vote at the commissioners meeting, occasionally heckling commissioners and prompting a warning from Dunlap. Around a dozen speakers questioned the efficacy of masks and challenged the scientific data, despite Harris referencing several studies that underscore masks do help in preventing coronavirus transmission.
“It’s so simple. All we have to do is wear a mask. When you’re in public, wear a mask,” Commissioner Laura Meier said. “It’s not complicated. It’s also not violating your constitutional rights.”
As the jeering escalated moments before commissioners cast their vote, Dunlap asked Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers to escort some people out of the meeting chamber. “You’ve been rude all night,” Dunlap said.
Public health rule
There’s no concrete expiration date for Mecklenburg’s public health rule regarding the mask mandate. Under one set of criteria, officials will loosen the rule once the positivity rate drops to 5% for 30 days, with the goal of reducing community transmission of the virus.
Right now, Mecklenburg’s positivity rate is 13%, Harris has said.
The public health rule could also expire if officials end the local state of emergency, or if county commissioners choose to update the rule they voted on Wednesday.
”What we tried to do was write this in a way that the coming and going of mask wearing is really dependent on what we’re seeing in our community,” Harris said. She noted there will be peaks and valleys amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Masks should worn indoors in all businesses, establishment and public places in Mecklenburg County, according to the rule.
But there are a number of exceptions, including for children under age 5 and people with medical or behavioral disabilities.
First Amendment exemptions apply to “worship, religious, spiritual gatherings, funeral ceremonies (and) wedding ceremonies.” No documentation is needed, though “everyone is asked to tell the truth,” the public health rule says.
Mecklenburg trends
Coronavirus trends saw major improvement earlier this summer. But lagging vaccination rates, coupled with the highly transmissible delta variant, recently contributed to soaring infection rates and hospitalizations.
Nearly half of Mecklenburg residents are still not vaccinated.
Here’s how COVID-19 indicators deteriorated this summer.
▪ Two months ago, Mecklenburg on average was adding about 40 new coronavirus infections each day. Now, the daily caseload is 550, according to an Observer analysis of state public health data.
▪ Two months ago, the rate of positive COVID-19 tests in Mecklenburg dropped below 2.5%. Now, the positivity rate is 13%, Mecklenburg officials said Friday.
▪ Two months ago, the average number of COVID-19 tests administered in Mecklenburg fell below 1,300. Now, daily demand exceeds 3,400.
▪ And two months ago, an average of 55 patients were hospitalized for COVID-19. Now, the average hospital census is 260.
Changing how restrictions are handled
The county vote marked a departure from how Mecklenburg has handled local coronavirus restrictions, including a stay-at-home order and late-night alcohol, throughout the pandemic.
Typically, more stringent health measures — exceeding what Gov. Roy Cooper has imposed at the state level — needed the support of Lyles and Dunlap, as well as the mayors of Mecklenburg’s towns.
But on Wednesday, the county commissioners doubled as what’s known as a consolidated human services agency, which gave them the authority to impose a “public health rule. “
This rule applies to all of Mecklenburg, but commissioners did not need to seek the consent of all elected leaders in the towns.
Board of health members could include county commissioners and medical experts, like physicians, pharmacists, psychiatrists, hospital administrators and registered nurses, according to the UNC School of Government. This breadth of medical experience is not seen among Mecklenburg leaders, though.
At least one commissioner disagreed with serving as a consolidated human services agency Wednesday. “I wish we had a real Board of Health, with professionals of health that could really advise us,” Commissioner Cotham said.
“I think we’re on a dangerous precedent to ever override the towns,” she said. “I am not comfortable with that.”
But Commissioner Susan-Rodriguez-McDowell, who represents south Mecklenburg, said commissioners were not taking away jurisdiction from the towns.
“I don’t know how there can be liberty and freedom, when disease is allowed to run rampant,” she told people opposed to masks. “That doesn’t make any sense to me.”
This story was originally published August 18, 2021 at 5:02 PM.
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