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As Guilford County gets a grip on COVID-19, leaders call special meeting Tuesday

For Tuesday's meeting, Alston said representatives from Cone Health, the Guilford County Health Director, and Guilford County Emergency Services are set to attend.

GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — The Guilford County Board of Commissioners will meet virtually Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. for a special meeting to discuss local COVID-19 trends with various health agencies.

While the current indoor mask mandate will not be the main focus of the meeting, masking requirements will likely be discussed as part of the conversation, board chair Skip Alston told WFMY News 2 ahead of the meeting. Guilford County's mask mandate has been in place since August. 

Alston said that representatives from Cone Health, the Guilford County Health Director, and Guilford County Emergency Services are set to attend. He said the board will ask questions to hear their updated perspectives on COVID-19 trends, vaccination data, testing data, and hospitalizations.

“We are trying to be proactive and rely on recommendations from the medical society,” Alston said. “I rely on the medical community, not politicians.”

He added no votes will take place during Tuesday's meeting, but the board has the power to vote on changing the mask mandate during future, regularly scheduled meetings.

Members of the public may join the meeting via Zoom, and if required, enter meeting ID 822 6944 6393 at the prompt, according to a notice from the county.

Guilford County getting a grip on COVID-19

Back in August, Alston voted in favor of the indoor mask mandate, which passed 7-2. WFMY News 2 also spoke with Justin Conrad, Guilford County District 3 Commissioner, ahead of Tuesday's meeting.

"Hopefully, the board, my colleagues, will join me, and we will rescind the mask mandate at our earliest opportunity," Conrad said. He voted against reinstating the mask mandate back in August.

Conrad pointed to the declining COVID-19 testing 14-day positivity rate, which is currently 4%, according to data from Guilford County.

As of October 29, the most recent day data is available, 53 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 in Guilford County. The most recent peak was 171 people hospitalized in Guilford County on August 23 this year.

The CDC's COVID Data Tracker indicates transmission is currently "high" in Guilford County because the new case rate per 100,000 people is above 100 - right now at 115.98. The percent positivity rate of 4% falls under the CDC's community transmission rate of "low," but the CDC says although the two metrics are different, the higher level is selected.

In Guilford County, 54% of the total population is fully-vaccinated, while 64% of the eligible population age 12 and up is fully-vaccinated, data shows.

Businesses weigh in

WFMY News 2 spoke with two local businesses to hear their perspective on the mask mandate in Guilford County.

D'Etta Winstead is the business owner of the $5 Jeweler Paparazzi Accessories located at the Friendly Center in Greensboro. She supports the current mask mandate and said she would most likely keep a mandate in place, should the county rescind it in the near future.

"I am really comfortable with the mask, and if I have a customer that's not comfortable, I have different ways to service them if they don't want to shop in the store. But we have a sign on the door - please follow the mask mandate," Winstead said.

She said she and seven of her family members became infected with the virus. Winstead, fortunately, survived.

"You don't want to offend anybody asking them if they've been vaccinated or not, because that's a choice, so why not do the mask?" Winstead said.

Isaiah Brock is Day Manager at Heavenly Buffalos on Elm Street in Greensboro. He also supports the current mandate.

"I think it's a decent mandate. I think it's respectful for everyone involved. We have customers who come in who may have underlying conditions and who have young kids," Brock said.

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