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Informational signs regarding the Town of Highlands mask mandate are back in place at Kelsey-Hutchinson Founders Park.
Highlands will remain a masked town at least a little bit longer following a unanimous decision by the town board to keep the current COVID-19 mask mandate in place.
Mayor Patrick Taylor introduced a review of the town’s current COVID-19 related policies and stated that some business owners had asked the town to specifically review its mask policy. The town’s most recent COVID-19 regulations took effect on June 16, 2020.
“We have heard some complaints from people about the mask policy and I think we should review these policies every month or two from now on,” Taylor said. “With that said, I spoke with Tom Neal, who has become our local COVID-19 guru in his role as CEO of Highlands-Cashiers Hospital and he did not recommend dropping the mask mandate at this time.”
Taylor said Neal’s concern was that Highlands and other small towns in Western North Carolina are not out of the woods in terms of COVID-19 infections and reducing regulations may lead to another spike in coronavirus cases.
Commissioner Marc Hehn added that he has seen a lot of confusion regarding the town’s mask policy since its inception and noted that he was not in favor of lifting the mask requirement.
Masks are currently mandatory inside businesses, at all town maintained facilities and along all sidewalks in the business district. Masks are not required in residential neighborhoods or when exercising.
“On our sidewalks in the business district you simply can not maintain social distancing, especially as we get into our busy season,” commissioner Amy Patterson said. “I personally don’t think the mask mandate has been a burden on our community. We haven’t heard very many complaints and at the end of the day we want everyone to be safe.”
Patterson added that vaccination efforts are progressing, but there is no way to know who has been vaccinated and who has not. To error on the side of caution she recommended keeping the mask mandate and the rest of the board agreed.
“I don’t want people to avoid coming to Highlands because they don’t feel safe here,” Patterson said. “Public safety is still our top priority.”
Taylor pointed out that the town’s informational signage at prominent intersections had been changed to keep the public updated on the progress of paving and road painting operations, but the signs would be changed back to the mask mandate notification in coming days.
“We have visitors that come from all over, including places that may not have mask regulations,” Hehn said. “We need everyone to be aware of our rules so that we can limit any confusion.”