Updated Wed., Feb. 16, 11:18 p.m.
Mecklenburg County will drop its mask mandate in less than two weeks. County commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday night to remove the public health rule keeping the mandate in place, meaning masks will no longer be required in most public spaces in the county beginning Feb. 26.
Raynard Washington, the county’s health director, recommended dropping the mask mandate. He told commissioners at their meeting Wednesday that local COVID-19 trends are continuing to decline. He previously estimated that the surge fueled by the omicron variant of the coronavirus likely peaked in Mecklenburg County in mid-January. As of Feb. 13, according to Washington, the county's seven-day case rate had decreased 87% since Jan. 16, with hospitalizations down 37% since Jan. 27.
Meanwhile, the test-positivity rate, a metric officials previously heavily relied on for keeping the mandate in place, is less reliable now, according to Washington, because so many people are taking at-home COVID-19 tests.
"It is concerning for me that a public policy would be based on a metric that we are not confident ... truly represents what’s happening in our community," Washington told commissioners.
He added: "The percent positivity will still help us understand some things about how the pandemic is evolving. But it will not be the predominant metric by which we need to use to understand when we need to consider community mitigation measures. We really need to focus on severity of impact."
Washington on Wednesday also announced the county health department will shift its focus in managing the pandemic given the wide availability of vaccines, treatments, testing and masks. To monitor the level of community transmission, he said the county will use wastewater testing and the number of people visiting the emergency room with COVID-19-like symptoms.
Masks will still be required in some places in Mecklenburg County, like on airplanes and in airports, because of federal rules. They'll also still be mandatory in many health care settings like hospitals, Dr. Katie Passaretti, vice president and enterprise chief epidemiologist at Atrium Health, told reporters on Tuesday.
“If you’re in a hospital setting, a health care setting, masks requirements will continue,” Passaretti said. “We’re dealing with the most susceptible populations–there are big implications to any bit of spread (in those settings.)”
People at higher risk, like those with compromised immune systems and older populations, should still be cautious and consider wearing a mask, particularly in crowded settings, she added.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board is expected to consider whether to continue requiring masks in K-12 schools at its next meeting Feb. 22, CMS spokesperson Eve White said in an email to WFAE Wednesday. Washington said he plans to attend that meeting. CMS is the only Charlotte-area district that has continuously mandated masks for students and staff, citing the Mecklenburg County mandate.
County commissioners voted to reimpose Mecklenburg’s mask mandate in August amid spiking COVID-19 case numbers and hospitalizations because of the delta variant.
Gov. Roy Cooper allowed North Carolina’s statewide mask mandate to lapse in late July, though he also urged residents and school districts to follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about wearing masks inside.
States across the country, including California, Illinois and New York, have recently announced plans to rescind mask requirements.
