Masks mandated now for Asheville, Buncombe County businesses, other public indoor spaces

ASHEVILLE - Wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is now mandatory in businesses and most other indoor public spaces throughout Buncombe County, Asheville and several other municipalities after an emergency vote by local elected officials.

The county Board of Commissioners voted 6-1 at a noon Aug. 18 emergency session that was called after severe weather caused the cancellation of the board's regular Aug. 17 meeting.

The vote came after more than an hour of public comment and widespread criticism of the mandate with some veering into conspiracy theories of occult rituals and worldwide plans to decimate U.S. small businesses.

Previous reporting:  Asheville mandates employee COVID-19 testing, masks in and outdoors as infections rise

The mandate, effective immediately, was a central part of a local state of emergency approved by commissioners. It comes with continued concerns over the area's second surge in infections, this one driven by the virus' highly contagious delta variant, which some data shows causes more severe illness than earlier strains. 

The mandate follows a similar one declared last year during the first coronavirus surge.

"The CDC recommends that in areas of substantial or high transmission that people wear masks indoors in public to maximize protection from the delta variant and prevent possibly spreading it to others," the emergency declaration said.

Voting for the mandate were the board's six Democratic commissioners, Chair Brownie Newman, Vice Chair Al Whitesides, Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, Amanda Edwards, Parker Sloan and Terri Wells. The one Republican, Robert Pressley, voted no.

Sloan was present at the beginning of the meeting but said he had to leave for a business matter and was absent for the vote. County Attorney Michael Frue said board rules meant his leaving would result in an affirmative vote. 

The declaration was widely anticipated as many called for elected officials to mandate masks and even vaccines to slow the growing infections. But those who came to the meeting spoke against it, citing infringements on personal freedoms and even bizarre conspiracy theories. 

Several times, Newman called for people to not clap or talk during the comment period, banging the gavel and in one instance when a speaker would not stop talking, calling on a deputy to remove her before she walked away herself.

"I would suggest that you get informed because what you're doing is playing actually straight into the scenario that the World Economic Forum and people like Klaus Schwab have planned," said Christiana Dillingham, adding that the forum's founder and others like him would like to see U.S. small businesses crippled.

J. Ffeil of Black Mountain said there was an information war happening with an "astronomical" amount of censorship.

"And now some of you may laugh at this, but this is true — part of a satanic ritual is to wear a mask and six-foot distance," Ffeil said.

Speaking after the public comments, Edwards, a District 2 commissioner from Fairview, responded to criticisms that the face coverings amounted to the taking of a freedom and that the death rate from the disease was low.

"To me, one COVID-19 death is one death too many. And if we can help prevent additional deaths by wearing face coverings, we should."

Whitesides, a District 1 commissioner from Asheville, said he was the only one on the board to have lived through the advent of the polio vaccine and said he remembered the community's positive response.

"When we had the polio vaccine, the whole community came together. And, fortunately, it was not as politicized as it is today." 

Pressley, the one dissenting vote, said there were other ways to prevent the spread of infection aside from a mandate.

"Do we know this is a virus? Do we know it is dangerous? Yes, we do. But there are a lot of things we can do to prevent this, and that is just being smart," he said.

Newman who grew up across the state line in Pickens County, South Carolina, said because of the politicization that "very conservative county" would not support a mask mandate.

"They just announced they had to shut down their schools for the next few weeks," he said. "But we're very committed that we do want to have our schools open."

The chair said he would not support a shutdown because of the hardship it would put on businesses owners and others. He noted the mandate would end Sept. 30 unless changed by commissioners.

Mayors of four of the county's six municipalities gave consent to be added to the declaration, meaning the mandate affects all unincorporated parts of the county, plus Asheville, Weaverville, Woodfin and Montreat.

Black Mountain Mayor Larry Harris said he did not consent to join the declaration because he wanted the wearing of masks to remain voluntary, though Harris said Aug. 18 the Town Council would likely disagree and vote to join the county as soon as this week. 

Officials with Biltmore Forest, the only other municipality not to join, did not respond to messages Aug. 17 and18.

The face covering rules apply to all indoor public spaces except for churches and other religious or spiritual gatherings, including weddings and funerals. 

Bars, restaurants and other food establishments are among the affected areas with masks required unless a person is actively eating or drinking.

Initial coverage:Details of proposed Asheville, Buncombe County mask mandate

People alone in offices, at home, or in a space with only members of the same household do not have to wear masks.

"Citizens, residents and visitors" must comply, though children under 5 years of age are exempt. 

The declaration does not directly address enforcement or penalties, though it references last year's state of emergency declaration and dozens of executive orders by Gov. Roy Cooper.

County spokeswoman Lillian Govus did not respond to a message asking about enforcement.

In last year's mandate, commissioners said a violation did not constitute a criminal offense, though individual businesses could ask people to leave if they did not comply. If someone refused to leave they could be charged with trespassing.

Counties and municipalities are given the power to declare emergencies under Article 1A of North Carolina General Statute 166A. That statute says a person who willfully ignores a warning about an emergency can be "civilly liable for the cost of a rescue effort."

This breaking story will be updated.

Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.