CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles said she supports wearing masks, but said during a virtual news conference Tuesday she doesn't have the authority to issue a mandate for the city -- later clarifying her comments.
"I do not have the power to mandate a mask requirement for the City of Charlotte, the public Charlotte is a part of this Mecklenburg County with seven cities in it," Lyles said. "And so what we have to do is work with our public health director."
Later Tuesday afternoon, the mayor issued a statement clarifying that comment, saying she feels it's important Charlotte works as a part of the entire Mecklenburg County area to battle the pandemic:
“I want to clarify my comment from earlier today that I do not have the authority to implement a mask mandate. Throughout this entire COVID-19 pandemic, we have listened to the experts and taken recommendations and guidance from the Public Health Department and Policy Group. It is important that the entire Charlotte-Mecklenburg region work together to battle COVID-19. At this time, we have not received a recommendation to reinstitute the mask mandate. If we do get that recommendation, I along with the Mayors and other elected officials will discuss and consider that recommendation, which is consistent with the approach that we’ve taken throughout the pandemic. The most important thing people can do now is to get vaccinated and I strongly urge everyone in our community to get vaccinated.”
The City of Charlotte says the Policy Group referenced in the mayor's statement was derived from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Operations Plan, which was approved by all eight governments within the county. The group makes recommendations to the elected officials of Mecklenburg County.