Charlotte mayor, Mecklenburg County leaders push for mask mandate, face coverings

CHARLOTTE — Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles has asked Gov. Roy Cooper for a statewide mask requirement as he and state health leaders continue to debate the idea.

She said Tuesday she supports this for all citizens because it provides additional meaningful steps to help combat the spread of COVID-19.

“Protecting the public health of our residents is a must do for those of us in positions to make this happen,” Lyles said in a statement on Twitter.

Lyles expects Cooper to make a decision on a statewide mask mandate this week.

The governor is holding a news conference Wednesday at 3 p.m.

This comes as cases continue to increase across the state and as we near possible Phase Three of reopening.

Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen said the numbers continue to move in the wrong direction. They are trying to find the balance in reigniting the economy and protecting public health.

Mecklenburg County leaders voted 7-2 Tuesday night to move forward with a face-covering requirement. The county plans to draft a proposal that that would require face masks, regardless of what Cooper says. The proposal still has to be drafted and signed.

“We got different concerns. We need to worry about our people, more dense, and it’s just different,” Commissioner Trevor Fuller said. “I would expect that our rule would be more restrictive. People expect us to do it, believe we’re behind the game.”

Leon Johnson, manager at 704 Shop, said people have been wearing masks inside his South End store.

“Outside of the store, it’s been on and off, so if the mandate comes, it’s going to be interesting to see what happens around here,” Johnson said.

Each municipality can choose whether to enact further restrictions, such as a mask mandate, without a broad motion by the county. The city of Raleigh is issuing a mask requirement starting Friday. Wake County does not have a county-wide rule.

As an example of each municipality’s power to enact stronger rules, the town of Davidson considered requiring businesses to mandate masks. Ultimately the town decided not to issue a mandate.

A spokesperson for the city of Charlotte did not rule out a future mandate for the Queen City.

“We are in conversations with Mecklenburg County and other municipalities and we are currently discussing this issue,” Cory Burkarth, media relations manager said.

“We need to worry about our people, more dense,” Commissioner Trevor Fuller said Tuesday night. “People expect us to do it, believe we’re behind the game.”

“We have been working closely with the governor’s office, and he is going to have a briefing, I believe tomorrow, and that will give us an idea of how we’ve spiked and what we need to do statewide, because this isn’t just about Charlotte,” Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles told Eyewitness News reporter Joe Bruno. “I wear mine all the time, you wear yours all the time. That’s an example that I think people should look at and live by.”

Charlotte City Councilman James Mitchell is in favor of a mask requirement.

“It is about our health. It is about our businesses being able to thrive,” Mitchell said. “It is about having some normalcy again, but this is important, this is about our health.”

Health Director Gibbie Harris has said the No. 1 concern with a mandate is enforcement, which is the same worry shared by top Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department leaders.

“We know the difficulty that would be for any type of enforcement. We are not sure how many people have adequate access to those masks,” Deputy Chief Jeff Estes said. “There are a lot of problems with enforcing any sort of requirement.”

“No mask, no service” -- that’s the decision that Brawley’s Beverage owner Michael Brawley is enforcing.

When his business on Park Road first reopened, Brawley asked all customers to wear a mask. But a couple days ago, he said he decided to make it a requirement.

“If you were going to sit here and consume beer, as long as you’re at your table you don’t need a mask, but as soon as you stand up and start walking around, we require a mask and it’s common sense, you’re putting other people at risk, it’s so easy,” he said.

Brawley told Channel 9′s Elsa Gillis that a state mandate would be really helpful as cases climb.

“Maybe if more people were doing this, maybe a lot more businesses that are owned by my friends could open back up, doing something this simple,” he said.

Channel 9 digs into why people refuse to wear face masks in public Channel 9 digs into why people refuse to wear face masks in public

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