GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — Guilford County Commissioner and Board Chair Skip Alston has called for an emergency meeting Monday with local mayors, hospital representatives, public health leaders, and county staff members.
Alston told WFMY News 2 he plans to call for a countywide mask mandate at Monday's meeting. He said he also may call for Guilford County employees to get the COVID-19 vaccination.
"Do we have time to wait? I don't think so," Alston told WFMY Sunday. "It's my opinion that we do need a county-wide mask mandate. We do need all of our county employees to be vaccinated or at least tested once a week. That's my opinion. I will be asking for [medical and public health experts'] advice. For them to either confirm whether or not that's something we need to consider, I will be listening to their recommendations."
Alston said the results of Monday's discussions will guide possible local mandates and ordinances to come at a later date.
"It is apparent we are fast approaching another decision point when it comes to the protection of our community as result of our current COVID-19 infection rates, resource implications, etc.," Alston wrote in an email Sunday on the invitation letter to the emergency meeting.
Guilford County's previous mask mandate was lifted on May 19. Alston said with the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases, drastic action is needed to prevent a crisis.
"Guilford County is experiencing a sharp increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. Over the last month, we added 2,000 new cases, the positivity rate of infections has more than tripled from 2% to nearly 7%, and hospital admissions due to COVID-19 are increasing," Alston said.
According to the invitation, local leaders and representatives in Guilford County will discuss the pandemic's current situation and discuss additional COVID-19 mitigation measures.
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