Majority supports Durham County face-covering order, shoppers largely complying

In a poll conducted by SurveyUSA on behalf of WRAL News, about two-thirds of those surveyed agree with Durham County’s mask requirement, and the same rate of respondents say they are covering their face when in public.

SurveyUSA interviewed 700 adults from the state of North Carolina between April 23 and 26. The research was conducted online.

Sixty-two percent of respondents said that people should be required to wear masks in public, while 25% said that there should be no such requirement and 13% were unsure.

WRAL News conducted a more informal survey in Durham at stores such as Harris Teeter, Home Depot and Costco on Monday.

The vast majority of shoppers at Harris Teeter and Costco were wearing face coverings, while roughly 60 percent of shoppers at Home Depot did the same.

The order and the compliance of citizens has led to an increase in confidence of consumers getting their shopping done in Durham.

"Durham is much better," said Hillsborough resident Janice Laube. "That’s why I come from Hillsborough to shop in Durham. I feel a little bit safer."

Ben Julian, an employee of Instacart, told WRAL News that he's seen a stark difference in the wearing of masks between different North Carolina communities.

"It depends on the area you’re in," he explained. "In the more rural areas like Burlington, you don’t really see as many people in coverings. When you come to Durham, Chapel Hill, these areas, most everybody is wearing one."