Health director answers questions following New Hanover County mask tenure

WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) – A mask warrant has been in place since Friday of last week in New Hanover County – but questions arise as to what the county plans to do on enforcement. Last year we saw governor mask warrants and other restrictions put in place by local governments; However, that mandate was put in place by the county health director – and this decision has different implications.

New Hanover County Health Director David Howard explained that by doing things the way they did, the mask’s mandate applies to everyone in the county, even those who live in municipalities. Generally, the orders of the Council of Commissioners will not apply to places like Wilmington or Wrightsville Beach.

The mask’s mandate applies to all buildings, public and private in the county, but on Monday morning speakers from the New Hanover County Commissioners Council appeared maskless to express their thoughts on the mandate itself and why they are opposed to it.

When asked why the county was allowing people without a mask inside the building, county spokeswoman Jessica Loeper said anyone who did not wear a mask was asking for one of the exemptions described by the reduction order. Asked about the exemptions, Howard said the county relies on people to be honest and would not require anyone to prove they have a condition that would make them exempt.

“No one is required to prove that we believe in the good faith of the vast majority of the community who will understand the logic and rationale for using a face covering and simply to help mitigate the spread of the virus Howard said.

When it comes to enforcement, there is a legal aspect to the mandate, but Deputy Health Director Carla Turner said that was not the route anyone wanted to take.

“Our first tact will be education – if someone isn’t wearing a mask, we can have someone do the education, we’ll have an education compliance person who can contact them. companies or things like that just to talk to them about the importance of doing that, ”Turner said. “I mean, in order of abatement, there is an element of enforcement but we want to start with education to encourage compliance.”

County commissioner Rob Zapple echoed this sentiment following the county commission meeting, saying it was more important for the county to focus on the educational aspect of the term and not on the ‘enforcement through measures such as fines or criminal charges.

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