Health Director Bruce Robistow

During Monday’s Halifax County Board of Commissioner’s meeting, a discussion took place about wearing masks, after a report from Bruce Robistow, county Health Director.

HALIFAX — During Monday’s county Board of Commissioner’s meeting, a discussion took place.

After a report from Bruce Robistow, county Health Director, an action ensued about the enforcement of wearing masks. He stated the trajectory in COVID-19-like illness surveillance data, lab-confirmed cases, positive tests and hospitalizations have increased over the past 14 days.

The state has a new contract for testing with N.C. Community Health Association, effective through Nov. 31.

“Our trajectory is steadily climbing, averaging over 15 a day for quite some time,” Robistow said. “We are up to 11% of tests are positive. Many say we have more positives because we are doing more testing. It is the testing percentage that is the indicator. This time a week ago, they were at 10. The hospitals, everything is in an upward direction.”

As of Sunday, the county Health Department reports the following:

• 33 new COVID-19 positive cases since Friday

• 1,480 positive cases, including 27 COVID-19-related deaths

Robistow said there is minimal compliance with Gov. Roy Cooper’s Executive Order. In the retail market, employers are not ensuring the employees wear the masks, he said.

“In contact tracing, it is almost never that someone doesn’t tell us about going into a business and people aren’t wearing masks,” he said. “The mask does not protect you, it protects everyone else. If you go into a retail market without a mask, you are risking everyone who is in there.

“I have yet to have an experience where staff were all wearing masks and customers were all wearing masks: this is the governor’s order. I would recommend a county-wide enforcement of this executive order in all retail settings and restaurants. The pharmacy I go to, all staff wears masks, but the customers are not.”

He said law enforcement is helping the health department more, in regard to employees wearing mask.

“Allowing them to enter without a mask is unacceptable under this executive order,” he said. “When I think about the numbers continually going up, I go out in the county and make rounds, I will tell you the safest place I have been is in the county departments. I am proud of the fact, the safest place so many people can be is working inside the county.

“But when you go out you are comprising your own health by getting essentials, like food. We need to get this under control the best way possible — it is not fair to those who want to be safe. The community is violating the governor’s executive order and it is my recommendation that we strongly step up and enforce that order.”

Commissioner Marcelle Smith asked, “What more are we able to do?”

Robistow said the first thing is communication, asking the board of commissioners to send a letter to the jurisdictions involved, stating many folks are not in compliance, and that they must comply to the standard backed up by law enforcement.

“Once you start measuring and monitoring this it will start working,” Robistow said. “This has been out for a long time, people are afraid to call, they say, ‘What do we do?’ I tell them to call the police. A lot of people are upset that they can’t go to the store. This is something I wish we could have enforced long ago.

“We also need 100% buy-in from the law enforcement and we need to encourage the public to report violations. Once you start holding the store owners accountable, they have two options: to enforce or cease to operate. Communicate it and then implement and hold the people accountable.”

He added, the county Sheriff’s Office visited one of the Food Lion stores in its jurisdiction and called them. HCSO’s staff contacted

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Food Lion’s corporate office staff and told them to comply or they will be held accountable.

“After a visit just this past Friday, they were non-compliant, and 75% of the customers did not have on masks, that means it is a dangerous environment for folks wanting to go in their and be protected,” he said.

Town Manager Tony Brown said he agrees with Robistow.

“It concerns me because we have been doing this well over six months and are still seeing our numbers going up,” Brown said. “We need to do something differently. We can do something here, probably being more firm in enforcement and getting people to follow. We are telling our employees they have to do this.

“It is important that we step it up to a higher level. That is the key — we keep repeating we are doing this to protect others and not yourself. One simple sneeze can expose everyone in the room. I think we are doing a great job, but what else can we do? We need to change our steps, we are not going down.”

Robistow explained wearing a mask is a rule of doing business, like “No shirts, no shoes, no service.”

“There will be push back, but they need to know they have the support of the county leadership to enforce this,” he said. “It will hopefully resonate with the public. I get asked every day, what is the recommendation — it is simple, it’s the 3 W’s. A lot of people are and I commend those, it is difficult, we need to make the message loud and clear we are going to protect the public health.”

J. Rives Manning Jr., board vice chairman, said it put a strain on law enforcement to get to other crimes, and it will cost more money.

Robistow said, that is a great point.

“The law enforcement wants to enforce this, but if we have to make them do this, I agree it will tap resources,” he said. “I am not putting things on a scale of what is most important, but if our numbers continue to climb our hospitals will not be able to accommodate, we will have increased deaths, health care providers are being taxed to the limit.”

HCSO Wes Tripp said during the meeting, “I want it understood from the very beginning since the governor’s order came out, we responded to calls, we tried to educate rather than punish. This is a state governor’s executive order. To answer you question, Mr. Manning, the best way to enforce by not complying with mask wearing is take their ABC [Alcoholic Beverage Control] license. They get their license back when they make sure their customers and employees are wearing a mask. It is almost unenforceable for a law enforcement to enforce because of HIPAA [The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996], etc. We are not allowed to ask why they aren’t wearing a mask.”

Tripp commended Robistow and his staff, and continued with his idea.

“We write the manager a written warning, not the employee or citizens coming into the store,” Tripp said.

“A lot of this depends on personal responsibility. When me and my wife go out, you will see me with a mask because it is my right. I believe we are infringing on individual rights. I want to assure you, we have five deputies working 700 square miles. We answer calls as they come in. I don’t have the resources to be the mask police.”

County Commissioner Carolyn Johnson said, “I understand people saying it infringes on their rights, but it also infringes on my rights when you don’t wear a mask.”

She said her grandson has COVID-19.

“COVID is nothing to play with,” she said. “He had no underlying condition, but he worked in a place where nobody wore a mask. We need to be more serious about how we approach it.”

Robistow said it is not a constitutional right to go into a store and act any way people wish to act.

“This is a public health safety thing that has been proven to work, and we are making people who want to take care and protect themselves, we are not giving them an environment where they can safely shop for essential items. I am more than happy to work with anyone in the process. I understand the sheriff can’t be everywhere, but if we start to enforce, others will comply. We can boost our economy by bringing our numbers down. This is the way to prevent that. If we get our numbers down, by doing what we should have been for

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the last nine months, a business can stay open. Everybody says the COVID is shutting them down. It is our lack of compliance in mitigating the spread of this disease. If we get a hold of this, your economy will improve.”

Board Chairman Vernon Bryant said, “I think we need to do that declaration regarding the recommendation from the health director. We are talking about the unincorporated areas, but at the same time, I know we are going to pass it to the other towns. We should say in that email, we would like you all to follow suit.”

Robistow’s request to send the letter with the declaration was approved unanimously.

Bryant said to Robistow, “We appreciate all you do on behalf of the Board of Commissioners.”

Tripp added, “In a way to help enforce the declaration you put out, is there any way we respond as law enforcement, we can take that state ABC license? I promise, if we take that away, they will comply.”

County attorney M. Glynn Rollins Jr. said he did not know, and it is something he leaves to the ABC officers.

Bryant said it is something the board will explore with Rollins and Brown.

Manning restated, “I think we are in jeopardy when we ask a law enforcement officer to enforce this, when larger crimes are happening and he can’t get there. That is where we have a problem.”

Brown asked, if it is discovered taking the ABC license is an option, does the action need an official vote?

Smith said, “If that is already permissible by law, I don’t want to infringe on that. I don’t see the grounds to prevent him [the sheriff] to do that.”

Rollins said, “I think it is a real stretch to enforce the governor’s order of masks by revoking the ABC license, we just have to look into it.”

Manning said, “I agree, I think that is completely outside of our jurisdiction to do that. I have no problem with us recommending that everybody wear the mask and the stores enforce the masking for their employees and customers. If you have a prohibition, unless there is a penalty, it’s not effective to do it. We are asking them to comply, we are suggesting they comply, we are requiring our employees to comply.”

Bryant said, “If something like this comes from us, the highest government in the county and the sheriff’s office enforces, I think people will abide by that. I really believe that. You will have some that won’t, but I think the mass majority will.”

Robistow said, “To clarify, it is the store owner’s responsibility to make sure the customers coming in are wearing a mask, [if they are not] they are trespassing, a second violation, they will be charged with trespassing. The primary purpose is to make the business owners are more responsible.”

County Manager Dia Denton said the county has been under a state of emergency because of COVID-19 since March 15. It will be amended to talk about the mask enforcement, she said.

Sheriff Tripp added one more request to the outgoing letter.

“I would ask that it be left at enforcement,” he said. “There are different levels of enforcement. Leave it as enforcement and leave the actions of enforcement up to the law enforcement officers.”

Bryant said, “Halifax County is not facing anything more serious than this coronavirus.”