Starting next week, on August 9, the Town of Carrboro will require all employees and visitors accessing town facilities to wear masks, regardless of vaccination status.

According to a Carrboro press release, “The town continues to follow public health guidance from Orange County and the state in support of a safe and responsible reopening of in-person services. The indoor mask requirement was reinstated because the Delta variant of the coronavirus is so highly contagious. ”

Social distancing will also be required in all facilities. The Carrboro Century Center reopened for in-person services June 12 with the Town Hall reopening August 2.

By September 1, the town will also mandate its employees to demonstrate proof of vaccination status. Currently, more than 70 percent of town employees are vaccinated.

In late June, the Town of Carrboro provided a $100 vaccine incentive to encourage employees to get vaccinated and share their proofs of vaccinations. With 153 eligible employees, there are currently 109 employees vaccinated. Another 44 employees are either unvaccinated or not participating in the program.

Prior to Carrboro’s latest change in operations, the Orange County government also announced a shift back to requiring masks in its facilities earlier this week.

Effective August 5, all visitors and employees in county government buildings must wear face coverings to prevent the spread of COVID-19, regardless of one’s vaccination status.

Additionally, the Orange County government is preparing to require employees to disclose their coronavirus vaccination status. Those who choose not to share their status and those who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 will be required to complete weekly testing.

These new safety measures come as Orange County is now classified as having “substantial” community spread of COVID-19, according to data from North Carolina Health and Human Services.  Just last week, Orange County was in the “moderate” impact category. This change represents an increase in spread of the virus.

community spread

Only one NC county was red, indicating “high” virus spread, during the July 4-17 period. Now, as of August 4, 89 out of North Carolina’s 100 counties are red.

Guidance from the CDC issued last week said counties in substantial or high community spread areas should be wearing masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status.

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