Cumberland County Rescinding Mask Abatement Order Feb. 20

After over four and a half month of implementation, the Cumberland County Public Health Director will be rescinding the Public Nuisance Mask Abatement Order, effective February 20 at 5 p.m.

The move makes any requirements outside of Cumberland County official buildings optional across Fayetteville and the rest of the area. There will still be a mask mandate in place for all Cumberland County buildings, and the Department of Public Health "still strongly encourages residents to wear a well-fitted mask while in indoor settings."

The move comes as Cumberland County Schools removed its mask order, effective February 16. A release from the County said that the decision aligns with North Carolina Department of Public Health and Human Services new quarantine guidelines for schools and child care centers. It is also designed to allow time "for organizations to update and implement their own masking policies and procedures."

“The COVID-19 landscape looks different than it did two years ago. We know what works and what stops the spread of COVID-19,” said Dr. Jennifer Green, Cumberland County Public Health Director. “Masks remain an effective strategy for preventing the spread of COVID-19. Despite the recension of this formal order, we continue to recommend masking in public indoor spaces, particularly and in settings with lower vaccination rates.”

The order had originally been put in place on August 27, 2021, after a spike in Delta Variant cases of COVID-19 in Cumberland County. It required face coverings in public indoor spaces. But the County said "improvements in COVID-19 metrics, increasing availability of testing, vaccinations and boosters and authorized treatment options has prompted this recension."

Cumberland County advised that individuals must still comply with any mask order requirements a private business, healthcare and long-term facilities, educational settings and other institutions may have in place.

"Public and non-public schools and childcare facilities are required comply with masking control measures after a positive COVID-19 diagnosis or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms as outlined in the NC DHHS Strong Schools NC Public Health Toolkit and the NC DHHS ChildCareStrongNC Public Health Toolkit, respectively."

County officials said the infection positivity rate for North Carolina peaked at 36.3 percent on January 22, 2022, but has decreased to just 14.4 percent as of February 15. Cumberland County's rate decreased from 37.8 percent on January 31, to 25.5 percent on February 15.

"Free COVID-19 vaccinations and booster shots, which reduce the risk of severe hospitalizations and death, are available to those ages 5 and older at the Cumberland County Department of Public Health. The number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Cape Fear Valley Health System’s hospitals within Cumberland County has decreased from 172 on Jan. 31 to 106 as of Feb. 15."

If you're looking for good food across Southeastern North Carolina, you've got plenty of restaurant options, and thanks to the Food Network, a lot of people know about them.

The folks over at tvfoodmaps.com have done the work of legends, putting together a complete directory of all the restaurants that have appeared on some of the network's most popular shows.

So we took a dive to look at some of the best Southeastern North Carolina restaurant choices. For the sake of this discussion, we're calling "Southeastern North Carolina" anything south of Raleigh, and east of basically Pinehurst. So you won't find any of the MANY restaurants on the list in Raleigh, for example.

What you will find is a host of North Carolina restaurants that serve up everything from barbecue to seafood, and a little of all of the in between.

You'll find restaurants on Fort Bragg, over in Wilson, and down to Wilmington. And they've been on shows like "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" and "Food Paradise," as well as several others.

So let's take a look at the North Carolina restaurant list from Food Network shows, who have come down here to the wonderful Southeastern portion of the state:

8617 North Carolina 55, Angier - Seen on Food Paradise (Reopens March 1)

9th Infantry Street, Fort Bragg - Seen on Restaurant Impossible

https://bragg.armymwr.com/programs/smoke-bomb-grille

194 Gilliam McConnell Road, Carthage - Seen on Food Paradise

(Note: the original Pik N Pig restaurant in Carthage was destroyed by a fire last May. But they are in the works of building a new location. Read more about it here.)

2656 U.S. 301, Wilson - Seen on Food Paradise

751 State Road 1204, Greenville - Seen on Food Paradise

https://www.ourstate.com/a-day-at-bs-barbecue-greenville/

715 West Fire Tower Road, Winterville - Seen on Best Thing I Ever Ate and Food Paradise

4618 Lee Street, Ayden - Seen on Food Paradise

4688 Long Beach Road Southeast, Southport - Seen on Man vs. Food

109 Chestnut St., Wilmington - Seen on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives

114 Market Street, Wilmington - Seen on Best Thing I Ever Ate

624 South 17th Street, Wilmington - Seen on Best Thing I Ever Ate

1895 Burnett Boulevard, Wilmington - Seen on Best Thing I Ever Ate

4002 Oleander Drive, Wilmington - Seen on Man vs. Food and Best Thing I Ever Ate

3436 South College Road, Wilmington - Seen on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives

6301 Oleander Drive, Wilmington - Seen on Restaurant Impossible

1611 Pavillion Place, Wilmington - Seen on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives

7210 Wrightsville Avenue, Wilmington - Seen on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives

122 Market Street, Wilmington - Seen on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives

(This is from the Carolina Beach location.)

8024 Market Street, Wilmington - Seen on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives

6400 Carolina Beach Road, Wilmington - Seen on Man vs. Food