In a surprise move that stunned even some county commissioners, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners – acting as the Guilford County Board of Public Health – voted at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb.17 to do away with the county’s mask mandate that had been in effect since early January.
The motion came as a big relief to many people in the county who had been fighting hard against the rule that required any person indoors at a public venue like a store or restaurant to wear a mask. At the start of the board meeting, several speakers from the floor spoke on the need to get rid of the mandate, and, later in the meeting, Guilford County Health Director Dr. Iulia Vann stated that COVID-19 conditions in the county, though still threatening, were improving.
The thing that probably played the biggest role in the sudden change is the fact that earlier in the day, Democratic NC Governor Roy Cooper encouraged local governments to drop the mandate. It had been the six Democrats on the nine-member Board of Commissioners who favored the mandate, but on February 17 the vote to rescind the mandate was unanimous.
Commissioner Carly Cooke said before the vote that she didn’t think these decisions were “black and white.”
“I recognize the burden on businesses and small children,” she said of the mandate.
Cooke added that, when she voted to approve the mask mandate earlier this year, she stated that she didn’t want it to last one day longer than necessary.
Commissioner Alan Perdue said each new variant of the virus was different, so no single strategy should be used to fight it.
Perdue, who served for years as the county’s Emergency Services director, said that when that department required people to wear N-95 masks, the masks had to be fitted to the individuals and those users had to be trained and had to get medical clearance.
“It is a respirator, not a mask,” Perdue said.
Perdue said that’s why he’s been alarmed that medical professionals are now telling everyone to run out and get an N-95 mask and put it on.
Chairman of the Guilford County of the Board of Commissioners Skip Alston pointed out that at no time had Guilford County commissioners instructed people to specifically wear N-95 masks.
Alston has been one of the strongest proponents of the mask mandate.
“I don’t like wearing these either,” Alston said of masks. “I hate them. But I myself think that this mask protects me, and that’s good enough for me. And I think this mask protects others, and that’s good enough for me.”
Covid Narrative 2.0 —
Coming to you just in time for the State of the Union address on March 1.
(Without these policy “shifts”, the red wave during midterms would be immense.)
We are supposed to ignore that more covid deaths happened in 2021 (after the vaccine) than in 2020 (before the vaccine). And heaven forbid we look for causation therin.
Mainstream media is now saying the EXACT stuff aloud that was getting independent journalists kicked off social media for the last two years (masks can be used as one-way protection, masks might hurt the development of kids, hospitalizations WITH covid do not equal hospitalizations FROM it, we have to learn to live with the virus instead of the hubris that we can somehow stop it, the origins of covid-19 were most likely in the Wuhan lab that, funded by fauci, conducts experiments on coronaviruses, …etc ad infinitum)
My expectation is that we will hit full nutter phase now where antivax and ‘covid conspiracy’ folks will say….’see no big deal, you should have listened to me!!!’
The true narrative is that situations have changed as it had between each phase of the pandemic. Most important, between vaccinations and positive cases of Omicron, we are getting close to herd immunity. Yes more people died. That is mostly because close to half of Americans DIDN’t get vaccinated thanks to right wing anti science mentality.
The true narrative is that the vaccine has NOT caused mass harm. Vast majority of dead were unvaccinated. Vast majority hospitalized were unvaccinated. Omicron was not the killer that Delta was but due to unvaccinated, caused hospitals to be unrun in the specialized covid units (even if admitted for non-covid related issues) and has overstressed a large number of our local hospitals.
Thanks nutters!
Good news everyone we now have chris as our local expert on fauci’s Chinese flu. Keep up the good work chris
Oh “Chris the Mouthy Moron” is an expert on everything.
just ask him.
There will never be “herd immunity”. It is now endemic, and new variants will keep cycling through. Mask mandates won’t do that, and vaccinations will always be playing a game of catch-up. Best case scenario is a vaccine will decrease an individual’s severeness. It is time to simply move on with life.
Tell that to the families that had love ones dying after taking the jab. You still fill in as a sheep.
This is an election year. Notice all Democrat states have laxed the mandates. They do this to get them to vote for them. Then revert back to the old ways after the election is over. Do be a fool and vote for these people. It’s only a ploy to get your vote.
That’s great! They finally listened to the science and their constituents.
I appreciate this development, and have no intention of forgetting how the corporate media did a piss poor job of covering this and a multitude of other topics. I can forgive the council for trusting their national party & the corporate news, that’s a normal partisan thing. Glad to see they are breaking free and thinking for themselves even if it is only on this one issue.
They aren’t breaking free, they received the Dumocrat marching orders to disband immediately. With Biden’s sinking approvals, State of the Union upcoming and also the fact that the majority of scientists have proven this method did not and does not work.
“They finally listened to the science and their constituents.”
Not very likely. They probably were worried about getting thrown out of office in November.
Right! They gotta give people what they want if they want a chance at the next elections.
Roy Cooper comprises the entirety of Guilford County “Constituents”? On Tuesday Skippy said he didn’t care what other places were doing and he might even extend the mandate. Two days later with no real change in local covid numbers the NC legislature held hearings Coopy wants the people to ignore (like you AC!) and Coopy came out Thursday afternoon, a few hours before the county meeting, and called on counties to drop the mask mandates immediately. The little sheep Guilford County Democrats obeyed immediately.
Only those with a mid 2-digit IQ and a very high degree of gullibility would even attempt to claim, “they finally listened to the science and their constituents.” The only “science” that exists to Skippy is political science, and the only “constituents” in Skippy’s mind are the Democrat narrative and the amount of cold hard cash he can shove in his own pocket.
Thanks I guess. Mandate didn’t bother me I personally chose to ignore it. On the subject of your very personalized mask skip you have our permission to keep wearing it, it’s actually an improvement. But if you’re worried about people not knowing you are the chairman get a White Sharpie and have someone write it on your forehead. Then when in public we will know it’s you. Have a great day
Question for Rhino staff. Do you know of ANY enforcement for the second mandate? I know there were a few fines issued for the first one. The second one was a joke from the start.
IT WAS A JOKE, JQ. As I went about the towns/businesses in Guilford I went maskless as were the majority of others.
I still see lone drivers in a car wearing a mask; they should be wearing a sign around their neck that says DUNCE!
The RT reader is the kind of crowd that, if you gave them a $100 bill, would complain that the bill were wrinkled and not brand new.
You fit that narrative perfectly.
Skip was so angry at the end of the meeting last night.
Couldn’t happen to a nicer King if you ask me.
Mary..tis a pity his head didn’t finally explode!!
Great News Guilford County no more mask mandate just in time for the elections but wait. there’s more. skips international money pit museum just announced they are buying the building next door to expand the money pit so hold on to your wallets Gso and Guilford County because asking hands and taxpayer giveaways will be coming to a place near you. What a crock and a wondering moment why is it called the international civil rights museum anyway. What has it done internationally
Interesting that the mandate was lifted ONLY when the Democratic powers that be Ok’d it from Raleigh. Who’s pulling your chain, Chairman Skip and your Dem minions on the board!!!!!????? Hmmm!!!!!!
Elections are coming up. Vote the non-thinking, non-scientific, no common sense people OUT!!!!!
You can only deny reality for so long – even if you’re a deluded control freak Leftist.
You nailed it Austin. These deluded souls are ivory tower elitist pig control freaks from Hell on a bad power trip.
Thanks, James.
The whole Covid phenomenon has turned into a project to eviscerate our liberty and turn us into serfs.
It’s called The Great Reset.
Your comment is a gratuitous insult toward pigs.
What a coincidence that the day Cooper makes the statement that Cities & Counties should eliminate mask mandates, Guilford County immediately rescinds it!!
Alston stated that wearing a mask is now a personal decision/choice, and individual businesses should do what is best for them. It should have been a personal choice all along!
Not praising them for doing undoing something they never should have done to begin with: taken freedoms from American citizens. We don’t thank or praise tyrants for things they perceive as kind gestures towards their subjects.
Right on Bronni! I think they expect us to be grateful when they throw us a few crumbs.
They are OUR public servants, and it’s about time they were reminded of their place: servants, not masters.
Bait and switch???
It never was about the science. I sent my commissioners numerous peer-reviewed scientific reports showing masks don’t work. They were completely ignored. It’s interesting that I could go to any store in any county surrounding Guilford and not wear a mask, as if the so-called virus only targets us. But as soon as our Democrat Governor says masks need to go away, our Democrat commissioners obediently comply. It’s all such a fraud.
I guess the cure for medical tyranny is the mid-term election. Who woulda thunk it? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Skip Alston has never been recognized for doing something that he didn’t benefit from. This mask joke is a prime example.
With elections coming soon, across the nation too, suddenly the narrative fits the science. If Skip was indeed upset at the end of last nights meeting it was because he feels he’s surrendering control of his minions.
His only minions were the MORONS who wore a mask
I agree with most the statements above, the masks are gone unless you want to continue to wear one. BUT we are forgetting the most important process, OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN ARE STILL WEARING MASKS!! This must go. NOW!! Please, everyone, remember all of this when elections come around, I will not vote for anybody that has a D beside their name. There are some good ones and you had your chance to stand up for what was right, but instead cowered in a corner for fear of being called names. City council needs diversity on the board, as in COMMON
SENSE. One last thing, who is going to pay to clean off the Black Lives Matter logo on the street downtown? Now that the media has covered the fact that the members have stolen millions of dollars and left the movement, I don’t think Greensboro should be advertising for them.
In regards to the BLM logo downtown, I haven’t been downtown since that logo was painted on the street and will only consider going back if it is removed. Most everyone knew it was a racist, communist, domestic terrorist group when it stated rioting, looting and burning cities all over the country but our leftist local government supported it. They would never allow a Confederate flag painted on a street, so why allow this one? Whoever painted that logo on the street should be forced to remove it!
I wasn’t aware of the existence of a BLM logo downtown. Shows you how long I have avoided the place – at least since the riots.
It’s painted on Elm Street in front of the infamous money pit museum
Maybe if everyone had a mask with their name and title on it, they’d want to keep wearing them. Skippy you have put “KING” on the one side of your mask, Chairman is such a low position for an all-mighty person like you.
So, Skip, keep wearing yours! We are DONE
I’m curious did the taxpayers pay for king skippy’s custom mask
Do not despair. The mandate may be over, but Skip is plotting his revenge with the property revaluations and tax rates.