Top Trump adviser joins Cooper in calling for NC residents to wear masks

"So many of us think we're invincible," Alex Azar, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said in an interview with WRAL News.

Azar noted that the majority of people who have tested positive for coronavirus in North Carolina are under age 50, a group usually at lower risk for complications or death from COVID-19 than older residents.

"A lot of folks may have too much of a cavalier attitude towards this," he said. "They can have a serious consequence, but they could also infect people in their household who are vulnerable, or they could accidentally infect someone in line at the grocery store who's vulnerable.

"It's such a little effort," he added about covering one's face in public during the pandemic.

Cooper was more blunt during a state briefing on the virus situation in North Carolina.

"The refusal to wear a mask is selfish," the governor said after thanking Walmart, Costco, Lowe's Home Improvement and other retail chains for requiring customers to wear masks.

"Either wear one or don't go in the store," he said. "It infringes on the life and liberty of everyone else in the store. Not only is wearing a mask the decent, neighborly thing to do, it's the best way to boost our economy."

The number of infections across the state continues to grow, topping 103,000 on Tuesday, but more than three-fourths of those people are believed to have already recovered. Nearly 1,700 people have died from the virus in the past four months.

Still, North Carolina hasn't seen the soaring infection rates of some other states.

"In North Carolina, this pandemic remains at a simmer, not a boil," said Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services. "We can and must avoid becoming the next Arizona or the next Florida."

Cooper announced another effort Tuesday toward that end, saying DHHS was delivering 900,000 masks, cloth face coverings and hand sanitizer to North Carolina Cooperative Extension offices across the state to be provided to farm workers.

"Many of our farm workers live in group housing, putting them at higher risk of exposure," Cohen said.

"Some of these supplies have been difficult for farmers to source as demand has exceeded supply," Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said in a statement. "The health of our farmers and farm workers is very important because we all rely on them every day."

Cooper said he has heard anecdotally that more people are complying with the state mask mandate, and the growing number of retailers backing it will boost that even further and help move the state forward.

Azar likewise expressed optimism if people continue to follow the simple actions of covering their faces and practicing social distancing and good personal hygiene.

"If we all do our part, we can turn this tide around right now," he said, adding that there's a "very credible shot" at having millions of doses of vaccine available by the end of the year.

"We're so much better now than we were two months ago. We're going to be so much better three, four months from now than where we are today. But to get there, we all need to do our part," he said.