NEW HANOVER COUNTY, N.C. — New Hanover County voted to end its indoor mask mandate Friday morning.
The county, which includes Wilmington, imposed the mask rule in August as coronavirus case numbers started to spike from the delta variant.
New Hanover is one of a handful of North Carolina counties to institute indoor mask rules in late summer.
New Hanover is the first county in the state to drop its mask mandate.
The COVID-19 numbers in New Hanover have dropped off. It is one of 10 counties in North Carolina in the CDC's "yellow zone" with moderate community spread of the virus. The rest of the state is either coded in orange or red.
New Hanover County's percent positivite number is less than 3%, a measurement of how many coronavirus tests are coming back positive. The state average for positive tests has been hovering around 5%. The lower the percent-positive number is, the less the virus is spreading.
What You Need To Know
- New Hanover County voted to end its indoor mask requirements, becoming the first county in the state to drop the mandate
- New Hanover County's COVID-19 percent positivite number is less than 3%
- The county imposed the mask rule in August as coronavirus case numbers started to spike from the delta variant
- The county school board has its own face mask policy requiring students and staff to wear masks inside school building
The New Hanover County Health and Human Services Board's vote Friday does not effect schools. The county school board has its own face mask policy requiring students and staff to wear masks inside school building.
Statewide, coronavirus numbers have been coming down since the latest case spike in September. Other counties could also begin removing mask mandates.
RELATED: COVID cases are dropping in N.C. So when will counties drop mask mandates?
In Mecklenburg County, commissioners recently amended their mask rule to say that it would automatically expire after the percent-positive rate stayed under 5% for seven days. If the case rates stay low in Mecklenburg, that county could drop its indoor mask mandate as soon as next week.