CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The clock could soon be ticking down on Mecklenburg County's mask mandate, as a revised rule changing how it expires takes effect in a few days.
Last week, county leaders approved changes to the metrics requirements that would trigger the mandate to expire, lowering the threshold established in the original health rule, while still aligning with CDC guidance.
The new mandate calls for the seven-day average of the county's positivity rate to be at or below 5% for seven days in a row before masking would no longer be required in public indoor settings. The previous rule stated the county had to sustain 30 straight days of positivity at or below 5%.
According to the revised rule, even if the mandate expires, residents, especially unvaccinated ones, will still be "strongly encouraged" to continue to mask in indoor public settings, and schools would still have to follow any state guidance issued on face coverings.
While the new rule does not take effect until Wednesday, Nov. 17, any dips in the seven-day positivity rate to 5% or below that happen beforehand would still count towards the requirement.
The county has already seen some daily rates in the COVID-19 positive test rate at or below that goal mark. The latest county update, current through Wednesday, Nov. 3, shows the seven-day average was just above it, sitting at 5.5%. However, CDC data current through Saturday shows the seven-day average at 4.83%.
The next county metrics update is expected this Friday.
Mecklenburg is one of two counties in the Charlotte region recently downgraded on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's COVID-19 transmission map. It, along with Gaston County, moved from the red/high spread tier into the orange/substantial tier.
Contact Vanessa Ruffes at vruffes@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.