From Staff Reports

The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners on Nov. 30 voted to extend the countywide face-covering requirement for all indoor public spaces through noon Jan. 5.

“The indoor mask requirement also extends to Asheville, Biltmore Forest, Black Mountain, Montreat, Weaverville and Woodfin,” the county noted in a press release.

“In Buncombe County, COVID-19 case rates continue to be high, and per the CDC definition, the county remains an area of high transmission,” the release stated. “The percent positivity remains in the moderate category, and the death rate remains in the substantial category.”

Buncombe Public Health Director Stacie Saunders said the extension stems from a recent boost in COVID-19 cases before the Thanksgiving holiday and possibly another surge in the coming weeks.

“Unfortunately, COVID-19 cases continue to increase after a high-level plateau. The percent positivity is now consistently above 5 percent again, and we are likely to see a further increase after the Thanksgiving holiday,” Saunders noted in the release.

“Transitioning to living with COVID-19 means doing what we can now to reduce transmission and burden of new infections.

“Our goal is to dampen — as much as possible — any surge we may see during this holiday season with the hope of achieving decreasing case rate and spread, as we enter the new year,” Saunders said.

Meanwhile, the Asheville Citizen Times noted that “this is the third time the mandate’s expiration date has been delayed. It comes on the heels of worldwide concern about the omicron COVID-19 variant that has been labeled a ‘variant of concern’ by the World Health Organization.

“WHO said on its website Nov. 28 it is ‘unclear’ whether this variant is more transmissible compared to other variants. Also unclear are facts about the severity of this newly discovered variant’s symptoms.

“Vaccines that help protect against severe COVID-19 symptoms are still widely available throughout the county and officials are urging residents to get the shot and help stop the virus’ spread,” the ACT reported.

As of Nov. 30, 66 percent of Buncombe’s population was partially vaccinated.