The City of Greensboro announced on Wednesday, June 30, that the mask mandate for City of Greensboro-owned facilities was being relaxed on Tuesday, July 6.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper lifted the mask mandate for the state on May 14.  So for the past six weeks, while people could go just about anywhere except healthcare facilities, schools, daycare facilities and public transportation without masks, in City of Greensboro-owned facilities masks have been required.

According to the press release, “The City of Greensboro will begin relaxing its mask mandates in City facilities on Tuesday, July 6, based on data available from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Guilford County Health Department.”

According to the press release from Cooper’s office on May 14, “Following yesterday’s guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that fully vaccinated individuals can safely do most activities without wearing a mask or the need to social distance from others, the state will remove its indoor mask mandate for most settings.”

It does make you wonder, if these decisions are being based on data and guidance from the CDC, how could the state and the city interpret that data and guidance so differently. 

Also, while Cooper ended the mandates for masks and social distancing for everyone, the city is merely relaxing its mask mandate for “fully vaccinated individuals.”

The city press release states, “Unvaccinated individuals are asked to wear masks when indoors for their protection and the protection of others.”

The Greensboro City Council, as previously noted, ignored the mask mandate for all Greensboro-owned facilities at its meeting on June 15, as did the senior members of city staff.  So sometime before June 15, the mask mandate seemed to have been relaxed for the City Council and senior city staff and now it is being relaxed for the rest of the fully vaccinated residents of Greensboro as well.

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