On Thursday, Feb.17, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners will meet as the Guilford County Board of Health to consider rescinding the current mask mandate for Guilford County.
However, Commissioner Justin Conrad, said that no one should expect the county to follow in the footsteps of many other governments across the state and the country and remove the mandate. Conrad, a Republican commissioner who’s never voted for the mask mandate, said the rule will stay in place until at least the end of the month.
Guilford County voted to implement a mask mandate in mid-January as COVID-19 cases were on the rise. The county’s mandate requires that everyone in a public venue such as a store, bar, restaurant, theater or concert hall wear a mask while indoors.
On Tuesday, Feb. 15, Conrad attended an “Agenda Meeting” where some commissioners and county staff discussed the agenda for the board’s Feb. 17 meeting. Conrad said it became crystal clear that Chairman of the Board of Commissioners Skip Alston was allowing Cone Health to make the masking decisions for him, and Alston and the other Democratic members of the 6-to-3 majority weren’t going to remove the mandate.
“I’d be floored if they did,” Conrad said.
Conrad said that one health official told the board at the meeting that, without the mask mandate, the number of COVID-19 cases would continue to fall but “probably” not as fast.
Conrad added that the whole masking process undertaken by Guilford County has been based mostly on conjecture instead of science – and, in the past, Conrad has brought scientific studies to the board meetings to make his arguments against the standard COVID-19 line of advice.
“I guess I’ll have to go to New Jersey if I don’t want to wear a mask,” Conrad said, pointing out that even liberal governments in the US have begun to see the uselessness of masking in the current situation.
Comrade Alston will be once again in the bully pulpit. Question is; Will he be a County Commissioner or a Health Department employee? Either way we lose.
King Skippy wants everyone to bow to him! Truth is most people aren’t wearing them and most retail, restaurants aren’t enforcing this stupid power play by the King.
I haven’t worn “the mask” since this BS plandemic began. And I’m not starting now either.
There are school districts all around us who are going to mask optional, but we need an entire county of this useless paper on our faces? FYI Skip and company, those who know the masks are useless aren’t complying and yet the numbers are still dropping. Your days as a county official are numbered.
Please do not take the mask mandate away! We will just be repeating the numbers to rise again with the new variant Delta-cron that is headed our way. Why can’t we try to keep Guilford County as clean as we can instead of following those that walk off the cliff? How many times have we done this? Wake up please and let’s TRY to protect our citizens!
So many see a simple ask to wear a mask as a freedom issue as if the freedom is only theirs given that the real impact of not wearing a mask is on the community as a whole. Thank the modern conservative for politicizing public health and making anti science go mainstream.
Bekki and Chris – if you are actually two different people y’all need to go on a date. I’m sure there are some woke places down town that will make you wear a mask while you eat.
Chris that would be the right attitude if masks were of any benefit. But I’ll defend your right to keep wearing yours until the cows come home.
Move to another county
Bekki , you can still wear your mask. Nobody is trying to stop you, but science says masks are almost completely useless and the cloth ones are a joke. I will bet you money that if the mask mandate said it would have to be N95’s minimum , and all those cutesy cloth ones were outlawed, the mandates would NEVER be on again.
Bekki – clearly your IQ is sub 80. Start by looking up the definition of “aerosol.” The masks haven’t work because if you can breathe through them, or smell your constant farts since you are so full of hot air, guess what – the virus is there too!!!! Cover your face all you want. I haven’t. I won’t. But I appreciate the low IQ so obediently following orders and putting a great big “I have no brain” sign right over their face!!!!
Becki, feel free to hide behind a mask as long as you like. The rest of us long ago figured out that they are useless. We’re tired of this crap! FYI, I got Covid two weeks ago from two individuals who have had all the shots and were both wearing masks.
I am sick of the Dems they hate the people in order to stay in control as they have throughout our history.
Says the guy that supports the party that attempted to destroy democracy in order to hold power with baseless claims of mass fraud. What a joke.
Hail to the conservative Republican Party. Hail to Trump he’s the man.
There is plenty hate left to defeat Pres. Trump, again. We need a more likeable, centrist candidate. With conservative values.
Why compromise your so called conservative values with a centrist candidate? That is a losing ticket for sure!
Chris – I really appreciate your comments. When I wonder if all leftist really just have a 2 digit IQ I read comments from you and Bekki. It adds a lot if anecdotal evidence that yes, the farther left, the lower the IQ.
For my safety you need to be sure to get a super effective booster every 3 months. For my safety you must also go to Cone health for all your medical needs. Do those things and I will be MUCH safer, so will all the children of Guilford county, and you will be in a “safer” place. Win-win right? I mean, do you and Bekki really want to stay in this world where Covid will be here FOREVER?????
Chris and Bekki have shown us that some liberals don’t have double digit IQ’s. Theirs are in single digits.
Almost half of the people I see aren’t wearing them anyway!! Get with the program demorats!!!!!!!
Alston and the other Democratic members are NOT following the science. Cases have dropped by more than 70% Most anyone with any common sense sees this is now over. Frankly, everywhere I go now no one is wearing a mask. Even Alston’s enforcement cops are ignoring this foolish mandate. Look at the Police officers on the streets of downtown Greensboro. None are wearing masks. Let’s get on with our lives. Next, we need to eliminate the mask on our poor children that are being tortured with these foolish masks.
We have to rally like VA did and vote all these liberal Marxist out or we’re going to end up like San Fransicko. Look at GCS, it’s a disaster, I know, I worked there for years . It really is as bad as it seems!
We are already like San Fransicko
OOoooo So scary…she said Marxist. LOL I doubt you even know what that word really means.
Greensboro is actually doing great. Job growth with the new Toyota plant, Boom, Aamzon, etc…. Housing prices are going up but not crazy. Take a chill pill. Elections are coming up. Republicans will do well this next round.
Thanks to Coisioner Conrad for pursuing a rational approach. Where is the scientific evidence that masks are effective against the virus? And what about investigating the harm they cause? We need thoughtful rational representatives in our governing bodies not. Irrational dictators!
What does anyone have to gain by continuing the ordinance?
The only conspiracy theory (I’m imaginative) I can come up with is that Chairman Alston plans to be the last hold out in the mask mandate argument so that no other Democrat has to be the last one to lift the mandate.
There has to be some sort of kickback for taking a punch like that.
Maybe Skippy will get us all “chairman” masks like he wears…that we tax payers paid for!!
At this point I just want them to keep it I place until after midterms. I have never worn one, never will. Anything to remind people how asinine their communist policies are is a good thing in an election year. Maybe we can get some new faces in county government this fall.
At this point, the mask mandate is all about saving face. See what I did there? They of course will not repeal it tonight. That would be admitting it shouldn’t have been implemented in the first place. The real question is what will they do when the current mandate is set to expire on 2/28?
Is Skip and his minions going to have more paid crisis actors thanking the commissioners for their useless mandate again. I hope so they gave me a good chuckle
Skip will not relinquish his ill-gotten power over the masses until the masses relinquish him from his elected position. People need to realize that elected officials are supposed to represent them in the halls of government, and that they answer to us. We don’t answer to them.
Be ungovernable, and you take back that power. Walk around acting like a bunch of little sheep, and you deserve to be eaten by the wolves.
AAANNND now Meck Co. is dropping its mandate, though at the end of the month. I think even Gov. Cooper is suggesting dropping mask mandates.
I agree with everyone about everything. Don’t hold our breath waiting for me to mask up. I went into a major big-box retailer this week. They gave me a mask when I entered. I put it in my shopping cart. No one said anything. There were other non-masked people in the store.
If you want to wear a mask, I’m fine with that. The Libertarian point of view is mine – do as you please, as long as it not contrary to my freedoms. For example, if you want to have an abortion, have at it. But I do not want to be coerced (taxed) to pay for it.
Liberal politicians have an inherent gene of stupidity! We the general population didn’t get it, so we know what makes sense. As you go around the community you will see more and more people opting not to wear that stupid mass. As commented above, businesses are not enforcing the “skip regulation for masking.” Folks, vote that bum out!!
“News articles that didn’t age well”. See above.