Raleigh and Wake County debating whether to require masks in public due to COVID-19
Raleigh and Wake County are considering requiring people to wear a face mask in public to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
The Raleigh City Council should be prepared to vote on a mask requirement — similar to Durham’s rules — during its meeting Tuesday, said Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin.
This is coming up “in light of some of the things that happened this weekend on Glenwood South,” Baldwin said, referencing a viral video of lines of people waiting to get into bars and restaurants on the outskirts of downtown Raleigh.
But the mayor said it was more than that.
“(We are) also getting reports of people not wearing masks in retail centers, supermarkets, whatnot,” Baldwin said. “We feel we need to revisit this issue. With COVID cases increasing, we feel this has become a public safety issue.”
The virtual Raleigh meeting is set for 1 p.m. Tuesday.
Baldwin and Wake County Board of Commissioners Chair Greg Ford spoke Monday about whether to require masks in their respective jurisdictions. There are more than 3,100 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Wake County and more than 40 related deaths.
Both Orange and Durham counties now require masks in public when people can’t social distance.
It’s easier for those counties to approve a unified order because they have fewer municipalities to work with, Ford said. In Wake County, the county government and 12 municipalities need to agree.
“I think there is some misconceptions and misinformation about face coverings and their validity or use,” Ford said. “And, unfortunately, as is our time and where we are in American history where everything is politicized, even face coverings themselves have become politicized.”
There are many people who would mandate the county and cities to implement a mask requirement, Ford said. Ford can only issue an order for the unincorporated parts of Wake County, while mayors — and in Raleigh’s case the council — must decide what best to do in their own jurisdictions.
“It is in the best interest of all of Wake County to have consistency across the county,” but Wake County is going to prioritize public health even if other elected leaders disagree, he said.
“If there ends up being a difference of opinion with some of our mayors, so be it,” Ford said. “That is the nature of our how government is structured. And those mayors will act in the best interest of their towns and ultimately, as we are, be responsible to the citizens they represent and elected them.
A Wake County Mayors Association meeting is scheduled for Monday afternoon and the attending mayors will discuss face mask requirements.
This story was originally published June 15, 2020 at 5:09 PM with the headline "Raleigh and Wake County debating whether to require masks in public due to COVID-19."
