Masks

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper Thursday vetoed a bill that blocks public schools from mandating masks for students, saying it thwarts local control. It comes as most districts are voluntarily ending their mask mandates.

As Gov. Roy Cooper urged an end to local mask mandates, lawmakers in North Carolina's statehouse passed a "Free the Smiles" bill that would end mandates for students in public schools.

Republicans at the North Carolina legislature have turned back efforts to repeal a new law that requires school districts to vote regularly on face masks. Critics say the law has contributed to recent raucous board meetings.

Union County Public Schools, one of North Carolina's few mask-optional districts, agreed Wednesday to work with local health officials to identify and remove students exposed to COVID-19.

U.S. District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis said the ban on school districts imposing mask mandates would be like South Carolina preventing schools from building wheelchair ramps. A spokesman for Republican Gov. Henry McMaster says he will fight the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.

U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who represents western North Carolina, urged the Johnston County school board not to mandate face masks and cited statistics that said suicide attempts among children and teens had risen dramatically in the past year.

South Carolina officials who have been sued over a law banning school districts from issuing face mask mandates say that they should be removed from pending litigation. That’s the argument made in recent court filings from Gov. Henry McMaster, Attorney General Alan Wilson and others being sued by the American Civil Liberties Union.

A group of Union County doctors who have kids in public schools are voicing their frustration over the school board’s insistence that masks should be a personal choice. They say officials and the public are not hearing from the people who have personal and professional experience with the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Biden says, "If you break the rules, be prepared to pay." He calls the harassment aimed at airline employees over masks "wrong" and "ugly."

Mecklenburg Commissioners voted Wednesday to require people at indoor religious services to wear masks.