Some people thought the Guilford County Board of Commissioners might do away with the existing countywide mask mandate at the board’s Thursday, Feb. 3 meeting.
However, that didn’t happen and now many residents are asking how long that mandate will be in effect. The man who knows the most in regard to the answer is Chairman of the Board of Commissioners Skip Alston – and he said this week that it will depend on the advice from Guilford County’s health professionals and members of the local medical community.
While the coronavirus is still widely prevalent in Guilford County and across the country, many communities that previously had mask mandates have done away with them. However, in mid-January, the Democratic majority on the Guilford County Board of Commissioners voted to implement a new mask mandate and currently those six commissioners show no indication of a desire to get rid of it.
The mandate requires that people indoors in public places such as stores and restaurants wear a mask.
This week Alston told the Rhino Times that the mask mandate will stay in effect as long as county health officials deem it necessary. He said the current order has an expiration date of Sunday, Feb. 27, but he added that the county may very well vote again to extend the mandate if the COVID-19 tests’ positivity rates don’t decline and Guilford County Health Director Dr. Iulia Vann thinks it is necessary.
“We discussed it at our previous meeting, but no one made a motion to rescind it,” Alston said. “When we meet again this month we will take a look at it and then reevaluate it at each meeting. Any action will be based on the report from the county’s health experts.”
The Board of Commissioners is scheduled to meet twice a month for the next few months.
Republican Guilford County Commissioner Justin Conrad said the mandate is based on questionable science and needs to be done away with. He said Alston and the Democrats are listening to the medical advice that they want to hear while excluding an opposing body of evidence.
Conrad has gone head-to-head with Guilford County Health Director Dr. Iulia Vann at times armed with scientific studies that he has brought to the board’s attention.
He said that’s what a vast majority of the public wants as well. Conrad said he didn’t make the motion to rescind the mandate at the last commissioners’ meeting because his two fellow Republican commissioners who oppose the mandate had already left the virtual meeting, and, even if they were still participating at that point, the motion would have failed 6 to 3 along party lines.
I’ll now sleep better knowing Dr. Alston is on top of his game dealing with this virus.
I guess we are not following the science on this matter. It has been shown that even N95 masks, even if worn correctly, are not all that effective. Furthermore, since they have to be changed frequently, especially if touched, using them in place of the useless paper and cloth masks can be very expensive. With regard to the paper masks, if the county really wanted to mitigate the transmission of disease, why haven’t they provided or mandated hazardous waste disposal containers in and around the public and private places that require masking?
It’svquite obvious that ‘Dr. ‘ Alston and his fellow democrat minions love to be large and in charge despite scientific “consensus” about the effectivenesd of masks.
Stanford University disagrees with you. I will trust them. But thanks for sharing.
And of course, Stanford has never been wrong about anything.
Maybe it will end because, well, people are ignoring it whether they decide to vote to end it or not. Home improvement stores, restaurants, a few grocery stores…half the people in them are not even bothering anymore from what I saw this past week. Many people are done with masks because they know it is theater. Anyone putting on a mask at this point – unless you are ACTUALLY sick – is just participating in this season of Skip’s Pandemic Theater because they are afraid NOT to follow a rule. Here is a secret…take off your mask. If you are truly afraid and think it is protecting you, then listen to Skip. If you know Skip is keeping this in place just to be…well….Skip, and he does not want to admit it is pointless – then take off your mask. I have not put one on in months except to fly and go to a doctor’s appointment. Claim your allowable medical exemption and breathe freely.
Go back and sell Hot Dogs Skip, you suck and so does Nancy Vaughn
Really should also balance in small business leader’s economic needs as a balance to medical and public health who will always error on side of caution.
King Alston can mandate until he retires. I don’t comply, never have, never will, and I have not been to one business in Guilford County that is enforcing his mandate. Everyone is done with his tyrannical rein and he just looks ignorant and foolish and like a bully by continuing to enforce his mandates.
The mask mandate rests solely on the shoulders of Melvin Alston, M.D. Democrats LOVE mandates, and Skip is among the worst.
WHAT A JOKE!
Commissioner Alston, who is in charge; you or Cone? Cone didn’t elect you, the fine people of Guilford County. Leaders lead and sets the course. Don’t delegate’ your fiduciary responsibility. Guilford County is the lone wolf of the triad. Maybe we need another leader?
There is no scientific evidence that “masks” are effective. It is just a method for the County Commissioners who are also the Guilford County Board of Health (what a joke) to seek power and control. This is what you get when you elect a bunch of idiots.
Here. Give it a read.
https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2021/09/surgical-masks-covid-19.html
Chris please read the book “The Real Anthony Fauci, Bill Gates and Big Pharma by Thomas J. Dilorenzo. I think you’ll find it a real eye opener. If you want to find out about the author just Goggle him
From the study –
“About 7.6% of people in the intervention villages reported COVID-19 symptoms compared with about 8.6% of those in the control villages during the eight-week study period — a statistically significant difference that indicates a roughly 12% reduction in the risk of experiencing respiratory symptoms.”
“The researchers found that among the more than 350,000 people studied, the rate of people who reported symptoms of COVID-19, consented to blood collection and tested positive for the virus was 0.76% in the control villages and 0.68% in the intervention villages, showing an overall reduction in risk for symptomatic, confirmed infection of 9.3% in the intervention villages regardless of mask type.”
You will notice that the difference of “experiencing respiratory symptoms” in wearing masks was about 1%, and those “testing positive” about 0.1%, which really doesn’t support your argument. This study doesn’t strongly support that mask wearing reduces the transmission of the virus significantly.
Additionally, even today the doctor on CNN said that mask mandate science had changed, which shows there is no scientific consensus.
Thank you Deborah!
Old fake news, Chris. Google Guilford County COVID data. See that chart where cases are dropping exponentially? One might think, oh wow, that mask mandate really must’ve worked, right? Well while you’re on that page, go up to the right and switch Guilford County over to any one of the nearby counties that didn’t have mask mandates. Rockingham, Stokes, Alamance, whatever…the chart is virtually the same. Meaning = the masks mandates did nothing. The variant ran its course.
Article is from Sept of 2021. PRIOR to Omicron. Omicron laughs at masks. Get us a new study please. Off with the mask!!
Skip I’m not sure what fairy tail you are living in but the vast majority of the county opposes your useless mandate. With the exception of a few liberal controlled cesspits the rest of the country dropped the mask charade a long time ago. Keep it in place as long as you like because it just makes you and your cronies look like fools and we will never comply.
The only people who wanted the mask mandate were the people you paid to come make a fool out of them selves at the last commissioners meeting.
Hold the next one in person and see who come to speak
Skip-the-hyp,
No mask on your lip.
Justin Conrad speaks common sense truth
Of course they didn’t drop it. They couldn’t do that less than a month after enacting it. They called this meeting to simply double down on this decision and make it appear they are doing the right thing. That’s why they stack the public commentary portion with pro-maskers.
Note they did give themselves an out that will allow them to save face. Many places, left-leaning places are talking about dropping mandates – schools in NJ, state-level mandates in California, I think they may have already done so in Denver.
They will simply let the current mandate expire at the end of February with out action or comment.
What are the statistics for mandating that Guilford County wear a mask .Dors anyone have any IDEA what statistics will be used to make that deco.Does Dr Vann have any numbers that shows Guilford County has a great need to continue to wear a mask / or is this the current philosophy that I Am a Democrat and I get to make all decisions.
Again please include some statistics when making this newest mandate that all wear a mask.
If no statistics tell us ,we’re all grown-ups, that you don’t have any Numbers but You are in CHARGE and we must wear the mask!!!!!!!
I thought the county commissioners were the board of health
California ending mask mandates, New Jersey ending mask mandates, Illinois ending mask mandates. But not Guilford County. And Skippy has decided not to take responsibility
Strategic move to help the November elections. Local governments are still free to make restrictions, and in blue strongholds can continue to do so with impunity. Those running for state office have plausible deniability, saying they ended COVID restrictions.
If you google “Guilford County COVID data” a graph from The NY Times shows up. Take good look at the steep decline in cases. Then change the county specified to any one of the surrounding counties that did not have mask mandates. Proportionally, they are all the same. Omicron is running its course. The Guilford County masks mandates have made no difference. But alas, these commissioners need to spin their justification for it and dig in their heels. When is Skip’s term over?
And by health officials, he means the Board of Health (aka Board of County Commissioners) that he runs and controls a majority of the little minions who vote. If Skip’s going to pass the buck, he needn’t look farther than the mirror on the wall. Look Pal, many of us were born at night, but it wasn’t last night.
Dearest Chris,
Please flush yourself down the toilet. They have some strong ones at the old courthouse. Rumor has it that the pipes lead to Stanford. I’m also told there is an initial cleansing effect before the transport begins.
And take liberal socialist tuna with you that’s what’s known as a 2 for 1 special