North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) is encouraging localities across his state to end mask mandates, following several other Democrat governors who have eased restrictions.
While North Carolina is not under a statewide mask mandate, some local mask requirements remain. On Thursday, Cooper called on them to drop the requirements, citing improvements in coronavirus metrics. He is also encouraging school districts to make masks optional for schoolchildren.
“I encourage schools and local governments to end their mask mandates,” the governor said.
“The school toolkit provides guidance for schools, and it has in the past strongly encouraged mask mandates for local schools, that’s been the right move,” he explained.
“We are at a point in the pandemic where health officials say lifting the mask mandates might be the right thing for them to do and that they should consider that,” he added:
The moves comes as other blue state governors, including New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D), Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D), and Delaware Gov. John Carney (D) make moves lifting mask rules in their respective states as well — a move President Biden has deemed “probably premature.”