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Council drops blanket mask requirement for meetings but keeps social‑distancing guidance
Summary
Following updated CDC and state guidance, Thomasville City Council agreed that meetings will be held in rooms large enough for social distancing and will not require masks except as CDC or state guidance recommends; advisory boards may hold hybrid meetings but quorum must be physical.
City Manager Michael Brandt told the City Council that the CDC had announced relaxed masking recommendations for vaccinated individuals and that Governor Cooper had lifted the statewide indoor mask mandate for most settings. Council members agreed to continue holding Council and committee meetings in rooms large enough to allow for social distancing but said they would not impose a mask requirement except where CDC guidance or specific circumstances recommend it.
Council Member Scott Styers advised advisory boards, committees and commissions that hybrid online meetings are allowable after the state emergency is lifted, but a physical quorum remains required for official business. City Attorney Misti Whitman cautioned that advertising and other requirements that changed during the emergency may be updated and said staff would provide guidance when the legal status is clarified: "We don't exactly know what's going to happen after the emergency order is lifted, but we will update you and let you know." Council agreed to revisit the mask and meeting-location policy monthly.
