WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines said he will lift the city's mask mandate on March 1.
Joines said the city has seen its COVID-19 cases drop recently, and respiratory virus season ends soon.
"Rescinding mask mandates when COVID-19 case numbers allow is an important stepping-stone to an endemic rather than pandemic approach to COVID-19," Dr. Chris Ohl, an infectious disease expert from Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, said in a news release. "Rather than masking an entire community, the emphasis for wearing a mask is shifted for those who are more vulnerable, including those who are unvaccinated."
Joines also said warmer weather will be coming soon, which will allow more people to gather outside. Experts say the risk of transmission decreases when outdoors.
Businesses, churches, and other organizations can still require masks, according to the news release. Masks will be still be required on public transportation due to federal law. People will still need to wear face-covering inside health care facilities.
"Speaking for Dr. Ohl and [Forsyth County Health Director] Joshua Swift, we are grateful to our citizens for adhering to the mandate and their compliance has done much to impact the lower number of cases and hospitalizations," Joines said in the release.
Joines said the city may bring the mandate back if a new variant emerges that causes the city's cause numbers to rise significantly.
Joines will make the decision official later in February by adding an amendment to the city's state of emergency. The emergency declaration has been in place since March 13, 2020.