County to drop criminal sanctions for mask violators
Aug. 18—GUILFORD COUNTY — The Guilford County Board of Commissioners will remove references to criminal penalties for violating the new mask requirements that were enacted last week.
The commissioners, acting in their capacity as the county health board, will hold a specially called meeting at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 26 in the board chambers at the Old Guilford County Courthouse at 301 W. Market St. in downtown Greensboro. Chairman Skip Alston said the meeting will allow the board to remove references to criminal sanctions for violating the mask order that the commissioners approved during an emergency meeting Aug. 10.
Alston said the commissioners "rethought" the inclusion of criminal penalties.
"We decided we don't want to have the chance of jailing anyone over masks," Alston told The High Point Enterprise.
Civil sanctions, or fines, would remain in the emergency order for violations.
The Guilford County Board of Commissioners became one of the first county governments in the state to reinstate indoor mask requirements to counter the resurgence of COVID-19 infections because of the highly contagious delta variant.
The commissioners included a pair of possible criminal penalties in the eight-page mandatory mask policy.
Anyone who willfully resists, delays or obstructs any enforcement officer could be charged with a Class 2 misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not exceeding $500 or by imprisonment in the county detention center not to exceed six months, or by both.
Anyone who willfully states anything false to an enforcement officer or hearing officer during an investigation, citation or hearing regarding the mask requirement could be charged with a Class 2 misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not exceeding $250 or by imprisonment in a county detention center not to exceed three months, or by both.
Commissioner Justin Conrad, one of two Republicans on the board to vote against the reinstatement of the mask mandate last week, said the reversal on criminal sanctions reflects his contention that the emergency order was rushed unnecessarily.
The county would be better served by an approach of educating residents about the importance of getting vaccinated, Conrad said.
Alston said the specially called commissioners' meeting can't be held earlier than Aug. 26 to meet legal requirements for a 10-day notice period before civil penalties can be adopted. The county called for the meeting in a notice issued Monday evening.
pjohnson@hpenews.com — 336-888-3528 — @HPEpaul
