We are calling on the Town of Chapel Hill to begin requiring the wearing of facial coverings when in supermarkets, shared spaces of apartment buildings, and other indoor, public venues in Chapel Hill. Face coverings can include something as simple as bandana or a mask made from a T-Shirt. Building staff – not police – should enforce the rule.

We appreciate Chapel Hill’s recommendation that residents wear masks and we commend the town for providing masks to low-income residents.

However, we all know that recommendations alone will be insufficient to achieve an appropriate level of mask usage in Chapel Hill. Every day, essential workers, elderly people, and immune-compromised residents of Chapel Hill come across individuals who have declined to follow Chapel Hill’s guidance on masks.

Durham has already led the way in this movement by requiring masks and Durham residents are safer as a result.

Masks should not be viewed as simply a device to protect oneself from contracting coronavirus. Research has shown that facial coverings have had an overwhelming impact when it comes to preventing the disease from being passed from an asymptomatic carrier of the virus (who is wearing a mask) to otherwise healthy individuals. The mask is more of a protection of our community, not just self. What one does impacts all.

Chapel Hill is a bustling college town with a major university hospital and a wide variety of citizens, young and old, living within its bounds. It would aid in slowing the spread of the disease if we can implement these safety precautions, such as how Durham did.

Please hear our voices. We ask that town authorities to protect our most vulnerable citizens by requiring masks in our town. And we respectfully request all our neighbors wear a mask in social situations, even in the absence of a requirement.

NEXT STEPS:
1. SHARE this petition
2. JOIN the “Masks4Chapel Hill” Facebook group (www.facebook.com/groups/masks4chapelhill
3. CONTACT Chapel Hill elected officials using the contact information in the Facebook group