Going for a stroll along Highlands’ sidewalks will no longer require a mask, following a vote by the town board of commissioners eliminating the mask requirement outdoors.
Mayor Patrick Taylor brought the mask mandate before the board during Thursday’s work session. Taylor pointed out that the board agreed to revisit the COVID-19 mask mandate each month beginning in May.
“At our last meeting we agreed to leave the mask rule in place, but since then there have been changes on the state level and new recommendations from the Center for Disease Control,” Taylor said. “The state of North Carolina has dropped the requirement to wear masks outdoors under Gov. Roy Cooper’s latest executive order.”
Previously the town required masks to be worn outside in the business district and any place where social distancing was not possible. Masks were not required outdoors in residential neighborhoods or while exercising.
Board member John ‘Buz’ Dotson asked Highlands police chief Andrea Holland if people moving around on Main Street and other high-traffic areas were complying with the town’s regulation requiring masks.
“For the past year I would say compliance has been pretty good,” Holland said. “But this past week or two, since the state changed its stance, the compliance has dwindled very quickly. And when our officers tell people to put on a mask in the business district they have started to hear some pushback.”
Dotson advocated for eliminating the mask requirement outdoors to fall in line with Cooper’s most recent order. Commissioner Donnie Calloway noted that the town can recommend residents and visitors wear a mask outside, but not make it mandatory and thus eliminate the policing of the matter.
“I don’t know whether changing our mask rule is the right thing to do or not, but I don’t want to make a decision based solely on what is being done in Raleigh,” commissioner Amy Patterson said. “We have to make rules for our local people that are in our town’s best interest.”
Commissioner Marc Hehn added that he spoke with local health officials who advocated for keeping the local mask rule.
“The problem is we are seeing an influx of visitors from states where the masks are no longer required anywhere, like Florida, Georgia, etc.,” Dotson said. “They check to see what North Carolina’s requirements are, but not what each individual municipality’s requirements are. They aren’t going to check Franklin, Highlands, Cashiers, and so on.”
Ultimately, Taylor called the question and Dotson made a motion to match the state’s current rules regarding masks. The motion passed 4-1 with Hehn as the dissenter.
Masks are still required, both at the state and local levels, inside businesses, schools and other government buildings.