Buncombe County's indoor mask mandate expired Wednesday afternoon, a day after county commissioners decided not to extend it further.
The mandate had been in effect since August of last year. While new cases of COVID-19 peaked in January due to the omicron variant, there has been a significant drop in cases over the past week according to public health director Stacie Saunders. She told commissioners before their Tuesday evening meeting that her department will continue to 'strongly recommend' that people continue to wear masks in crowded indoor spaces.
While the mandate is over, there are still certain places where masks must still be worn - at all public-facing Health and Human Services operations, and at the Buncombe County Courthouse and Detention Center. A federal mask mandate also remains in effect until March 18th for public transportation.
The ending of the mandate does not impact schools, which make their own decision on whether students and staff must wear masks. Buncombe County schools currently have a mask mandate, and the board of education doesn't meet again until March 3rd. The Asheville City School board this week voted to keep its mask mandate in place, while the board of education in neighboring Henderson County voted to end mandatory masking.