The face covering requirement in Orange County will begin on Friday at 5 p.m. The measure, which is part of the county’s state of emergency, is slated to run through the end of August in an effort to continue protecting public health amid COVID-19 cases rising in North Carolina.

Chair of the county’s Board of Commissioners Penny Rich spoke with 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck shortly after the change was announced. She explained why the county leadership, as well as the mayors of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough, decided to enact this measure now instead of earlier.

“We just had to do it at the right time, because we had to make sure that we had the ability to provide masks,” said Rich, “which we didn’t in the past. When this whole pandemic started, we couldn’t buy any PPE at all. The ability to buy masks changed it for us.”

The new order requires all people in indoor or outdoor situations when six feet of distance cannot be kept to wear a type of face covering. It specifically lists places like grocery stores, retail stores and public transportation vehicles as applicable places for the requirement.

Rich said shortly after the announcement, the county received many questions about how the measure will be enforced. She described a similar tactic to the county’s stay at home order issued in March, saying no one will be arrested or receive a citation unless they are making conscious efforts to endanger others. There are exceptions to the face covering requirement, but Rich also described times when it would be acceptable to have a mask off.

“You could ride your bike, you could go for a walk, you could do exercise,” she said. “It [just] needs to become a habit. You go out of your house, you have your keys, your phone, your wallet, your mask. I mean, that’s just the way it’s going to be for a couple of months. Once we get into the habit, it won’t be such a big deal.”

Enforcement, however, also played a factor in why the local government leadership was concerned about making masks a requirement. Methods to achieve this aside, Rich said there was much discussion over how community members could potentially misuse the order or misunderstand how to approach those not wearing face coverings.

“I think the push-back is going to be challenging for emergency services,” she explained, “because there might be people now feeling like they can call 911 on their neighbor or someone walking on the street that doesn’t have a mask. We don’t want people to do that, 911 is not the place to call. If you have any concerns, you should call the Emergency Operations Center.”

Rich also said there is concern for the county’s African American community, which had some member express fears of being profiled while wearing them or specifically targeted when not. She said the county leaders relied on Quintana Stewart, Orange County Health Director, to make decisions regarding this element. According to Rich, Stewart’s perspective as a black woman and public health leader led to the call of ultimately requiring face coverings.

“We let [Stewart] take the lead on this,” said Rich, “and give us her opinion on how we had to evolve to come to this [stance]. We’re all kinds of there now, but we are concerned about white people calling on the phone that a black person may or may not have a mask on. We have to use our common sense.”

To learn more about Orange County’s policies on face coverings, visit the county website. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services also has a Frequently Asked Questions page about face coverings, their importance and how to clean them on its website.

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