NC: Masks optional by March 7; lawmakers vote to end school mandates

As lawmakers and Gov. Roy Cooper moved to end mask mandates across the state, in public schools and in local communities, the political divide those restrictions have cemented was evident, even as House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) told his colleagues, "These kinds of decisions should be based on science but not political science."

“We are at the point in the pandemic where medical professionals say lifting the mask mandate may be the right thing to do," Cooper said.

But the political pressure was also building.

"I'll tell you this," Moore said, "everything I hear from parents, from teachers, from health experts, tells me that we need to lift the mask mandate."

Tamike Walker Kelly, president of the North Carolina Association of Educators, disagreed. "As educators trying to navigate the pandemic, it is our responsibility to prioritize the health and safety of our students and school communities," she said in a statement. "The proposed legislation undermines local decision-making and prioritizes partisan politics over public health and safety."

"This is a matter of government policy and government interest, but what it boils down to," Rep. David Rogers (R-Rutherford) said, "government needs to properly inform the people so that the people can make good decisions about their own health, their own families and their own children."

There was a bit of back-and-forth and a brief delay when representatives realized that two versions of the bill were circulating. The first draft dictated that the law would be in effect only for the current school year. The modification removed that sunset clause.

"There is no safety switch in this bill," said Natasha Marcus (D-Mecklenburg), during the Senate debate.

"It doesn't matter how high the cases go. It doesn't matter how bad it gets. You can't put masks on kids ever, never, no matter what, and I just think that's wrong. ... We should not allow individual parent preferences to supersede public health needs and override everyone else's rights."

The Wake County Public School System could make a change soon.

Holly Springs Mayor Sean Mayefskie and the town council joined the chorus earlier this week in a public letter to Wake County Public School System Superintendent Cathy Moore and the Wake County Board of Education calling for an end to the district's mask mandate.

School board chair Lindsay Mahaffey said, "We know that the science is changing. We know that the guidance is changing."

The board has a meeting planned for March 1.

“This has been a really tough two years for everybody, for our students." Mahaffey said. "We have seen an exacerbated need for social and emotional support in terms of counselors and social workers.”​

Emily Owens, the office manager for Children’s Discovery Center in Raleigh, told WRAL News she was thrilled by the news.

She said she worried about long-term mask use for younger children when it comes to their speech and language development.

"We want to prepare these kids as much as we can, but if you’re hiding behind a mask it takes away so much of the caregiving we’re supposed to be giving," said Owens.

The center has a preschool and after school program for children up to age 11. Children ages 5 and older were required to wear masks at the facility.

Should trends continue, Kinsley said, they are recommending that low-risk settings, including public schools, make face coverings voluntary. They deferred again to local leaders to make the final call.

There are still some places, such as health care, long-term care and transportation like airplanes, where a mask will be required because of the setting or federal regulations.

Democrats in the House committee expressed concerns that an end to mask mandates through S.B. 173 would limit the governor's ability to reinstate them to limit the spread of coronavirus or any other infectious disease in the future.

Rep. Donny Lambeth said, "You know, I do not see a path where COVID is going to go away. We're gonna be dealing with COVID into the future. It's going to be like the flu, in my opinion, where we have to deal with it every year."

Lambeth (R-Forsyth) concluded the hearing with the comment that he had asked state Secretary of Health and Human Services Kody Kinsely for his "exit strategy" for the pandemic.

"There are many states already developing and have that in place. We do not," Lambeth said.

A turn to an endemic understanding of COVID-19 can't come soon enough for restaurant owner Daniel Cloos, of Cloos Coney Island in Raleigh.

He called it way overdue.

"I think it’s time," Cloos said. "We’re ready to see this come to an end. Let’s go forward because everybody’s ready."

Cloos told WRAL News that he had not required masks for employees or customers at any point during the pandemic.

He hopes to see Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin respond to the governor's suggestion and end a city-wide mandate for face coverings in indoor spaces.

"She's the one that has a lot of authority," he said.

"I feel like our mayor needs to do that because a lot of the other counties are doing that, the schools are starting to do that."

Baldwin said the city is headed down that path. The City Council will vote on the citywide mask mandate at their meeting Tuesday. The mayor told WRAL News on Thursday that they are leaning towards lifting it, but that doesn't mean everyone must follow suit.

"Private businesses can make their own choices," she said.

At Weaver Street Market in downtown Raleigh, manager Micki McCarthy said employees and customers will be asked to keep their faces covered.

"What's most important for us as a business is keeping everyone as safe as possible," she said.

"I'm fine with that," said employee Craig Oaks. "I like the idea of this being a safe place for people who aren't quite ready to go maskless."

On Thursday, the state reported fewer people with COVID-19 in North Carolina hospitals – 2,711, – than on any day since Jan. 1.

The number of new cases – 5,583 – is about a sixth of what it was at the omicron peak in mid-January but still higher than the most recent low of less than 2,000 around Thanksgiving.

North Carolina Coronavirus dashboard - Maps, charts and data

To date, more than 22,000 people have died with the virus in North Carolina.

The raw number of people getting COVID tests is dropping, as is the percentage of tests coming back positive. At 10.6%, that rate is still twice the target set by the state Department of Health and Human Services.

Nationwide, the trends are the same. The seven-day rolling average of new cases, at just about 150,000, is lower than it has been since late December, but it is higher than peaks seen during August and September when the delta variant of the virus was most prevalent.

North Carolina ranks eighth nationwide in total cases of the coronavirus with 2.4 million and 15th in terms of deaths.