DURHAM, N.C. – The City and County of Durham will remove the indoor mask mandate, effective Monday, March 7, 2022, at 12:01 a.m. Durham Public Health Director Rod Jenkins announced at tonight’s Durham County Commissioners’ Board meeting.
Although the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website still shows Durham as a high transmission area, Durham officials say that the metrics, including the laboratory testing positivity rate, now at 4.8%, and in-patient bed count, currently at 134 across Durham healthcare facilities, are continuing to trend downward, falling within the CDC’s newly issued guideline of fewer than 200 in-patient hospital beds.
“This continues to be a fluid situation,” Jenkins said, “We will continue to monitor the data on case counts after the mandate is dropped. Also, if a new variant arises, it may be possible that we’ll need to take more aggressive action, including reinstating the mask mandate.”
“It was important for the City and the County to continue to follow the science and rely on our experts to make the appropriate recommendation for the public’s safety,” said Commission Chair Brenda Howerton. “We have listened and taken quality of life factors into consideration as we make reasonable efforts to move back to some sense of normalcy.”
Officials continue to urge the public to get their vaccinations and their booster as well. “With this welcome news, I cannot urge the public enough to get their vaccinations, if they have not already,” said Mayor Elaine O’Neal. “Even though we have a high number of residents who are vaccinated and have received their boosters, too many have not. We do know from the data that those who are unvaccinated experience more severe COVID-19 symptoms that can lead to hospitalization, which is a key metric that factored into our decision to lift the mask mandate.”
Even though the wearing of masks will not be required after midnight on Monday, March 7, Mayor O’Neal urged kindness during this time of transition. “Although the mandate will be lifted, it’s still okay to wear a mask if it makes you feel more comfortable in public settings. This move simply allows people to make their own choice. Dealing with this pandemic has been hard for everyone. Now’s the time to be kind to each other,” O’Neal said.
According to federal and CDC guidelines, masks are still required in healthcare facilities and on all public transportation. Officials will continue to monitor the critical metrics in the coming weeks.
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