Residents and visitors to Durham County will once again need to mask up before heading to indoor areas.

The Durham County and City of Durham governments announced a new state of emergency that will require people to wear face masks indoors as a method to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, as the delta variant of the virus leads to increased positive cases and hospitalizations. Officials with each government announced the new order on Saturday, while Durham Mayor Steve Schewel and Chair of the County Commissioners Brenda Howerton held a press conference on Monday.

The new mask requirement, which begins at 5 p.m., is for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people. Masks will not be required for when in one’s residence or outdoors, but will be for any indoor public place, business or establishment. The order outlines requirements similar to guidance shared by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the federal Centers for Disease Control amid the recent rise in coronavirus cases caused by the delta variant.

“Our local cases have grown exponentially over the last weeks,” Schewel wrote in the Saturday news release, “and instituting a mask mandate is once again necessary to contain the spread of COVID-19 and protect yourself and our vulnerable neighbors.”

Health officials report the delta variant of the virus is more contagious than the original strain that caused the lockdowns and stay-at-home orders issued in 2020. North Carolina Health Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen said in July the variant spreads to an average of six new people, while the original strain only infected two to three others. This makes those who are unvaccinated to COVID-19 even more susceptible to catching the virus in areas of high transmission, which the CDC reports is nearly all of North Carolina.

On Monday, Schewel said it is unvaccinated populations that are largely fueling the rise in hospitalizations from the virus. NCDHHS reported more than 1,700 people hospitalized due to COVID-19 on Friday, August 5.

“The pandemic we are experiencing now is a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” the Durham mayor said during the press conference. “If you are unvaccinated, the chances are good that the virus will find you.”

In Orange County, the Town of Carrboro issued a new order in effect on Monday that requires all employees and visitors accessing town facilities to wear masks, regardless of vaccination status. Additionally, all town government employees will be required to receive their COVID-19 vaccine by September 1. The Orange County government is also requiring masks for all people within county facilities and is implementing mandatory coronavirus testing for each employee who is not vaccinated.

The full state of emergency order from the Durham County government issuing a new mask requirement can be found here.

 

Photo via the Durham County Government.

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