Cumberland County health director to end order requiring masks Sunday

The Cumberland County health director said Tuesday that she plans to rescind an order that requires masks in public indoor spaces.

Health Director Jennifer Green told the Board of Health that she expects to end the county’s public health abatement order Sunday.

Rescinding the order will effectively end a showdown between the county and the Board of Education, which voted 5-4 last week to make masks optional in school buildings. That policy went into effect Wednesday.

More: Masks will be optional in Cumberland County Schools starting Feb. 16

Green said that enforcing the abatement order was a challenge.

County Attorney Rick Moorefield, who attended the Health Board meeting Tuesday, said the county would have to sue the school board to enforce the abatement order. He said that would be “untenable.”

“Nobody wins in that situation,” he said.

Members of the Health Board were generally supportive of Green’s decision, but several said they wanted to be sure that masks are still recommended.

More: Cumberland County school board's mask optional rule violates health order, county attorney says

Green’s announcement came after she presented a series of statistics that showed that while the number of COVID-19 cases and the percentage of positive tests for the disease are trending down, the county remains an area of high transmission. Her presentation also showed that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends wearing masks indoors in areas of high transmission.

"This is not an indication that the pandemic is over," Green said.

Dr. Sam Fleishman, a member of the Board of Health and the chief medical officer for Cape Fear Valley Health system, said he supported Green’s decision but believes people should continue to wear a mask.

“The issue comes down to a pragmatic approach for what we can recommend and what we can mandate,” he said.

Fleishman called COVID-19 a disease of the unvaccinated, adding that most of those who die from the disease have not been vaccinated.

“I cannot say enough that our best defense is the vaccine,” he said. “If people want to avoid hospitalization and death, they need to get vaccinated.”

Green said the Health Department continues to offer the vaccine.

“It is not too late to get vaccinated,” she said. “If you haven’t gotten your booster, you need to get boosted.”

Glenn Adams, chairman of the county Board of Commissioners, released a statement Wednesday supporting Green’s decision. He thanked her and the Health Department for their work and encouraged residents to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“We can’t forget that we have lost 519 county residents to this illness over the last two years,’ he said. “Cumberland County is still an area of high transmission, and our best defense is the vaccine.”

U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson sent Green a letter on Feb. 11 about the abatement order. In the letter on congressional letterhead, which his office released, Hudson said he wanted to "respectfully urge" Green to rescind the order.

Hudson said in a statement that parents should decide what's best for their kids.

“After the state passed a law and the school board voted to make masks optional, I demanded the health department stop standing in the way," he said. "I am glad the county has made this overdue decision, and I will keep fighting to end these mandates across our state and country.”

Green said in a press conference Wednesday that health officials are providing scientific data to school officials, making sure that they know about recommendations from the CDC and the state Department of Health and Human Services. She said scientific information shows that wearing masks is effective in preventing COVID-19.

Green’s eyes teared up and she had difficulty speaking when talking about the difficulty of making the decision to end the order.

When asked whether the lack of enforcement is a good enough reason to rescind the order, Green talked about community resources, the capacity of the Health Department, and how to spend taxpayer resources. She said health officials have spent a lot of energy, time and money enforcing the order.

When Green was asked what message rescinding the order sent, she said health officials will continue to educate residents about COVID-19.

“I think what this is signaling is that we are perhaps turning a corner, not there yet, but we are starting to turn a corner with the availability of treatment and testing and vaccinations that we can start thinking about how do we use masks maybe in specific settings, but not every setting,” she said. “But we’re not there yet. We still need to make sure that people are wearing a mask even when the public health abatement order is not in place.”

When asked if she is 100% sure that not having the order is best for public health in Cumberland County, Green said residents need to weigh the risk and the benefits.

“There is not zero risk for anything,” she said. “When we walk out of our homes, when we go to work every day, when we work on the frontlines of this pandemic, there is always a risk to every activity.”

Green said research shows the abatement order can be an effective tool against COVID-19.

“We want to make sure we are keeping our citizens safe at the same time,” she said.

Shirley Bolden, director of health services for Cumberland County Schools, said Wednesday that parents have the option to send their children to school wearing a mask.

“They also have the option to send their student unmasked,” she said.

Myron Williams, principal at Seventy-First High School, estimated that about 90% of students at the school were wearing masks on Wednesday, the first day masks became optional. He pointed out several students who were wearing masks as they walked down the hallway while classes were going on.

Williams said he has not heard from parents who are concerned about their children.

“It really just looks like a regular day,” he said.

School officials will continue to evaluate whether masks are needed. She said school officials are encouraging students to get vaccinated, Bolden said.

“Our numbers are declining,” she said. “We are seeing a decline, but it is a slow decline.”

Bolden said school officials are asking teachers to continue to wash their hands and be aware of students who don't feel well. Those students are sent to an “isolation room” so medical officials can assess them.

Teachers who are not feeling well should stay at home and get tested if they have COVID-19 symptoms, Bolden said.

Local news editor Steve DeVane can be reached at sdevane@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3572.

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This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Cumberland County health director to end mask mandate beginning Sunday