Is NC ready to ditch mask mandates? Local officials respond as COVID metrics fall
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- North Carolina's daily percentage of COVID-19 positive tests dipped to below 5% this week for the first time in three months.
Five percent is a range that many health officials have used as a benchmark for low transmission. Both Durham and Wake Counties have reported even lower averages during the past two weeks (3.1% and 3.8%).
Other COVID-19 metrics are following a similar trend with 18% fewer patients hospitalized and 5,300 fewer cases reported this week than last.
As the outlook improves, many are questioning whether local officials will loosen restrictions, including mask mandates.
The statewide mask mandate was lifted in May after North Carolina reported a 5.1% daily average over two weeks for positive COVID-19 tests.
Right now, the state is reporting an average of 6.3% of COVID-19 tests coming back positive over the last two weeks.
In addition, 700 more people are hospitalized, and the daily case average is 83% higher compared to mid-May, when Gov. Roy Cooper dropped most masking requirements.
The ABC11 I-Team reached out to local municipalities to see if they had plans to change restrictions and what metrics need to reach to make changes.
Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht said the town is planning to make a decision about its mask mandate on Monday after reviewing the latest data.
"If we decide to continue, then we will decide how long before the next decision point. Preliminary data shows that many of the numbers put us back to where we were in early August. It is my hope that these numbers will continue to improve, and we can end our State of Emergency by the end of October," Weinbrecht wrote to the I-Team.
Garner and Knightdale plan to follow Wake County's lead. Its mask mandate is set to expire on Nov. 1. A spokesperson for Wake County said leaders continue to monitor local and federal trends and plan to reevaluate restrictions in the coming weeks.
"The Mayor and City staff members are pleased to see a downward trend of COVID cases and hospitalizations throughout Cumberland County. We will support continued efforts to educate residents about who's eligible for boosters. We also want to support future decisions that could provide vaccination options for children in the community," wrote a spokesperson for Fayetteville.
In Durham, a city spokesperson said no decision has been made and leaders continue to monitor daily metrics and follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. Raleigh's mayor wasn't available for comment on Friday.
A spokesperson for Orange County said the mask mandate will stay in place for the foreseeable future.
"We're concerned that the flu season is coming up and there are other respiratory issues that will be floating around when the weather gets colder, people will be indoors more. So, you know, for those reasons it was likely that we're going to keep the mask mandate in place, at least for a little while longer," Todd McGee, the county's spokesperson, told ABC11.
While metrics fall across North Carolina, they haven't dropped to a level to meet the CDC's requirement for removing masks indoors.
The CDC's transmission map shows mostly all of North Carolina is red, which indicates high COVID-19 transmission. Only about 10 counties have slightly lower transmission levels at "substantial," including Orange, Chatham and Person County.
