Local News Roundup: Mask mandate stays; airport parking changes; remembering Cheslie Kryst

Although COVID-19 numbers are beginning to decrease and officials in Charlotte say we are “turning a corner,” Mecklenburg County’s mask mandate will stay in place — at least for the next few weeks. We’ll hear what County Health Director Raynard Washington had to say about it earlier this week.

The North Carolina Commission for Public Health voted to deny a petition seeking a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for kids 17 and up. It’s a move that the governor and the Department of Health and Human Services also opposed.

The Union County Public Schools board approved a resolution to end contact tracing and quarantine requirements. Are more decisions to end COVID-19 protocols ahead for other schools?

The free hour of parking at Charlotte Douglas International Airport is no more. We discuss the changes and the reasons behind them.

And the death by suicide of former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst, who grew up in the Charlotte area, sparks a conversation about mental health.

Mike Collins and our roundtable of reporters delve into those stories and all the week’s top local and regional news.

GUESTS:

Joe Bruno, WSOC-TV reporter
Mary C. Curtis, columnist for rollcall.com and host of the Rollcall podcast “Equal Time”
Claire Donnelly, WFAE health reporter
Jonathan Lowe, anchor and reporter for Spectrum News