Keeping NC mask mandate only for the unvaccinated ‘just was not feasible,’ Cooper says

In another move that showed the speed of North Carolina emerging from the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Roy Cooper held an in-person bill signing at the Executive Mansion in downtown Raleigh on Monday.

In an outdoor ceremony on the mansion grounds, a maskless Cooper signed a bill package increasing access to autism care that passed both the state Senate and House of Representatives unanimously. He also answered a few questions about COVID-19.

Cooper took in-person questions from reporters for the first time since he lifted remaining pandemic restrictions last week, including the statewide mandate for face coverings in indoor areas. New mask-wearing guidance for fully vaccinated people from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention prompted the change.

Cooper said that the CDC advice “was rather sudden” on Thursday afternoon, but said the research “shows us vaccinated people have very little chance of contracting and transmitting COVID-19 and therefore don’t need a mask.”

“When the CDC did that, then when you have state governors who are in charge of mandatory enforcement of violations, it makes it difficult to say that everybody should have a mask or that they have some rule under law that only people who are unvaccinated have to wear a mask. That just was not feasible,” Cooper said.

He reiterated the CDC and N.C. Department of Health and Human Services recommendations for unvaccinated people to wear masks, and that there are still rules for wearing them at schools, hospitals, prisons, child care centers, homeless shelters and public transit.

“We’ve left it to businesses to make their own decisions about what they should do,” Cooper said. He said that N.C. DHHS is working on making recommendations for office workers and other workplaces around bringing people back. For state employees, Cooper said they are in a holding pattern waiting for DHHS guidance.

“The bottom line here: People should get vaccinated,” he said.

Autism regulatory reform

Flanked by lawmakers of both parties and families impacted by the legislation, Cooper signed Senate Bill 103, which reduces regulation with the aim of helping children with autism. The bill establishes the North Carolina Behavior Analysis Board and a process for licensing behavior analysts. The legislation eliminates an extra layer of regulation for behavior analysts working with children.

Bobbie and Kyle Robinson and their son, Samuel, 9, attended the ceremony. The Greenville family said there are few behavior-analyst providers in their area. Kyle Robinson said the new law will open up more opportunities “for kids like Samuel to get the services they need.”

Samuel stood next to Cooper as he signed the bill into law.

Rep. Zack Hawkins, a Durham Democrat, thanked former Republican Rep. Chuck McGrady for educating their lawmaker colleagues on the issue when it came up in a previous session, but didn’t pass the Senate. Hawkins and his wife, Tracey, are parents to two boys who are on the autism spectrum.

“We are exemplifying how we are. We are where the weak grow strong, and the strong grow great,” said Hawkins, referencing part of the North Carolina state toast.

Sen. Jim Perry, a Kinston Republican and bill sponsor, said this was an example of how government should work, to solve real problems.

Behavior analysts previously had to work under the supervision of licensed psychologists, creating difficulties for some families to receive care, The News & Observer reported.

House Majority Leader John Bell, a Goldsboro Republican, called the new law a “game changer” for families.

Post-vaccination North Carolina

Monday’s ceremony was not Cooper’s first return to in-person news events, nor his first public bill signing this year. In April, he signed into law a bill designating April 24 Wounded Heroes Day in North Carolina. That ceremony was held on Bicentennial Plaza across the street from the Legislative Building. Cooper was joined by elected officials including Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson and Bell. Several people, including Cooper, wore masks for the outdoor event. The state had not yet lifted any mask restrictions at the time.

Nor was the restriction lifted when Cooper was also joined by General Assembly leadership on the mansion lawn on April 26 to announce Apple coming to Wake County and bringing 3,000 new jobs. And later that same day, he delivered his State of the State speech in a joint session of the General Assembly at the Legislative Building. Cooper has also been making frequent visits to vaccination clinics across the state.

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