The City of Greensboro is jumping back on the mask bandwagon.
On Thursday, Aug. 5, the city is reinstating its mask mandate in city facilities.
According to the press release, “If the positivity rate continues to rise, the City will consider implementing additional safety measures.”
The new guidelines will require face coverings for vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals entering all city facilities.
Evidently, to prepare people for the new mask mandate at the City Council meeting on Monday, Aug. 2, most of the City Council wore masks some of the time. Councilmembers Michelle Kennedy and Nancy Hoffmann were the only two who didn’t wear masks at all during the meeting.
Mayor Nancy Vaughan started out with a mask, but since Vaughan has to do a lot of speaking during the meeting and it is extremely difficult to be understood while wearing a mask and speaking into a microphone, she took her mask off frequently. Vaughan would put her mask on for a minute or two while someone was speaking and then take it off to speak herself.
Councilmember Sharon Hightower, who talks more at meetings than anyone other than the mayor, attempted to speak with her mask on, but was asked to remove her mask so she could be understood.
Councilmembers Tammi Thurm, Marikay Abzuaiter, Goldie Wells and Justin Outling only took their masks off when speaking, eating or drinking. Councilmember Yvonne Johnson was absent. Interim City Manager Chris Wilson and City Attorney Chuck Watts did not wear masks.
Most of the speakers at the public forum wore masks to the podium and then took them off to speak. One speaker did not and several councilmembers had puzzled looks on their faces as he spoke for three minutes about something.
According to the press release the reason Greensboro is requiring masks is “based on the latest CDC recommendation.” However, the members of the City Council ignored the CDC guidelines on how to wear a mask.
The CDC guidelines state, “Do NOT touch the mask when wearing it.”
It also states that when removing a mask, “Be careful not to touch your eyes, nose and mouth when removing and wash hands immediately after removing.”
No one on the City Council was observed washing their hands as they touched their masks to remove them and put them back on.
The Greensboro Performance Arts Boondoggle is I hope included. These traveling shows like Wicked should enjoy wearing masks while singing and dancing. I’m sure our Mandate Mayor wants season ticket holders to be as safe as possible.
Hammer nails it with the washing of hands guideline. Masks by themselves are far less effective without also social distancing and frequent handwashing. I support Mask wearing if part of a broader social distancing strategy. But not as a strategy unto it self. Imagine a surgeon operating on you without washing their hands thoroughly and saying “well I had on a mask?” Are the numbers in Guildford county spiking enough to justify Vaccinated persons to wear masks? Last figure I saw showed 7 day average of a 100 or so cases and an average of zero deaths?
Certainly FL needs to get back on the social distancing and mask mandates with the volume of cases in their state but we in NC have done a great job keeping our numbers down.
Then again, wearing a mask is really not a big deal if it makes others in the room feel better.
Yes FL and NC. “we here in NC have done a great job”. Google “Hope Simpson” and Good luck. LOL
We should not be legally compelled to feel responsible for others’ feelings.
Remember when we had gop leaders like mark robinson or Phil Berger or other gop leaders in the majority spoke out and helped us? Oh yeah neither do I. Where is everyone?
Mark and Phil are not part of our city’s tyrannical government. If you want responsible government at the local level, you need to vote for responsible government at the local level.
“zero deaths” … let that sink in. Tyrannical government leaders never let a good crisis go to waste. It should be an individual choice… freedom to choose in other words…liberty!
Wow, we had registered for the Oct 1 thru 3 Jewelry mart at the coliseum, but upon learning that the Doubletree and restaurants are requiring masks, we have decided to go to Biloxi later that month for their Market. Your governor and mayors lack rational/critical thinking, Greensboro was the targeted area for the Christmas Mart, but no one wants to play this silly game.
It would be a very simple task for the “mayor” to decide the mask rules for the meeting, state the rules and then enforce compliance. But instead, it’s a total CIRCUS.
I have grandchildren, as young as 11, who would do a better job of conducting a meeting. This group should not be allowed to run a lemonade stand, much less a city!
VOTE THEM OUT.
100% ,,, Vote them out ..
With so many who are vulnerable already vaccinated, I don’t expect to see a major rise in hospitalizations and deaths. This is all theater and tattle-telling.
Here we go, again! The masses of sheep need to wake up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlOyIPI_6Qw
Josh do you know of any official document that declares this policy to the public? Such as an “emergency declaration” or “proclamation”? We’ve had both on the subject of masks in Gboro in the past 18 months. I have searched the Internet but can find no record of one. How does this work? They just vote and suddenly there’s a new rule everyone must abide by? That’s it?
JOHN Hammer…I’m so sorry! I typed Josh in my comment on this article. Please forgive me for goofing up your name. If my comment gets posted please feel free to edit my gaffe.
I kind of like Josh. The governor gave local governments the authority to impose stricter regulations to deal with the pandemic in their jurisdictions. So the power comes from the power of the governor to act in an emergency. And yes, if a majority of the commissioners vote for a lawful mask mandate, Guilford County has a mask mandate. The first mask mandate didn’t meet the legal requirements.