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Raleigh, North Carolina – Department heads announced on Friday that masks will once again be mandatory indoors in all buildings in the county, regardless of a person’s immunization status.
The requirement applies to employees and visitors and comes into effect Monday, Wake County Commissioners Chairman Matt Calabria said. If visitors do not have a mask, they will receive one.
Buildings in Wake County include government offices, courts, the Sheriff’s Office, Wake County Emergency Medical Service, Wake County Justice Center, and libraries, among others. The Wake County public school system already has a mask mandate in place, but no official announcement has been made about the new school year.
Calabria said on Friday that 70% of Wake County’s adult population is now vaccinated, but although the number is encouraging, cases and hospitalizations continue to rise. Cases have risen in Wake County by 279% since early June, Calabria said, calling the mask mandate “temporary normal,” not permanent.
“Letting our guard down now is like being in the lead on the last lap of a race and deciding that you’re just going to release the accelerator… we have to see that through to the end,” Calabria said.
Due to an increase in cases, Wake County has returned to the Orange Zone, which means significant community spread, on the state’s pandemic map.
Fueled by the Delta variant, coronavirus cases have exploded in North Carolina in recent weeks. The state reported 3,268 new infections on Thursday, the highest one-day total in more than five months. The daily number of cases is up 82% from a week ago and is more than triple the number reported on July 15.
Gov. Roy Cooper announced on Thursday that a statewide mask term would end as scheduled on Friday, but strongly urged businesses and schools to mask themselves and ask people to get vaccinated on based on guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which state that even vaccinated people should wear masks in areas where cases are increasing. A new report released Thursday by the CDC indicates that the variant could be as contagious as chickenpox.
Like businesses and universities, counties and school districts across the state will be able to set their own mask policies. Many local school districts, including Wake, Durham and Orange, currently have mask mandates in place, but schools in Johnston County have gone against state and country guidelines and announced Thursday that the masks would be optional.
Many healthcare facilities are now requiring employees to be vaccinated, including at Duke University Hospital, where protests are scheduled for Friday.
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