Editor’s note: The Orange County government announced at its March 1 meeting its mask mandate will be lifted March 7. 

UNC leadership announced in a school-wide message Friday that it will follow Orange County Health Department leadership on indoor mask mandates.

While other counties across the state are lifting their mask mandates, the Orange County government recently announced its mandate would remain in place until COVID-19 trends drop even further.

“This means that we will continue to follow that guidance and require masks indoors on campus,” UNC leadership’s message read. “If [Orange County Health Department] lifts the county mask requirement, we will follow their guidance in accordance with the UNC System and communicate changes to our campus requirements then.”

UNC System president, Peter Hans, said each chancellor has the authority to modify and tailor COVID-19 measures on their campus. On Friday, though, he called on them to lift their mask mandates by Governor Cooper’s suggested date of March 7.

“I now ask that you exercise this authority by instituting mask-optional protocols in all campus indoor settings, including classrooms, no later than March 7,” Hans said. “March 7 is the effective date of the NC DHHS updated K-12 guidance and also marks the beginning of spring break at many of our campuses, thus allowing time to make the transition to a voluntary masking approach.”

Hans’ message said masking would still be required in high risk settings like health care, research laboratories and on public transportation.

According to Hans, the UNC System has administered nearly 130,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. At UNC, more than 13,000 people have attested to receiving their booster dose of the vaccine.

Other schools in the UNC System like UNC Charlotte and Appalachian State University announced their mask mandates will be lifted March 7. N.C. State relaxed some of its mask restrictions indoors Monday, but masks are still required in classrooms.

The UNC Chapel Hill mask mandate has remained in place since the beginning of the pandemic. Since January 2022, the campus has seen more than 3,500 positive cases according the Carolina Together Testing Program.

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