North Carolina's COVID-19 state of emergency expires on Aug. 15

By Taylor Barnhill | Aug. 15

In a July 11 press release, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said the new state budget allows the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) to have the same pandemic response flexibility as it had under the state of emergency.

Members of the Carolina COVID-19 Student Services Corps volunteer at the Frank Porter Graham Union testing site on Nov. 5.

University to close Carolina Together Testing Program on May 9

By Madi Kirkman | May. 6

Travelers line up at a ticket counter and Raleigh-Durham International Airport. Photo courtesy of RDU Airport Authority.

Column: Is TSA right to lift mask mandates?

By Raymond Pang | Apr. 25

A mask lies in a puddle in front of the Student Stores Building in January.

A look at COVID-19 at UNC this spring

By Layna Hong | Apr. 21

A discarded mask lies under empty chairs in Kenan Stadium on Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022.

Carrboro High School reinstates mask mandate after COVID-19 cluster

By Susie Webb | Apr. 13

DTH Photo Illustration. With the lifting of mask mandates at UNC, the possibility of future COVID-19 surges lingers.

Column: The loosening of COVID-19 restrictions is here to stay

By Raymond Pang | Mar. 29

Pandemic at the Meadows is an ongoing project by a Chapel Hill retirement community. The project documents the effects of COVID-19 on their lives.

Retirement community creates project to document the effects of the pandemic

By Simon Tan | Mar. 22

Residents from Carolina Meadows, a retirement community in Chapel Hill, discussed their new project “Our History: Pandemic at the Meadows," which works to document the effects of COVID-19 on their lives and the community.

Senior business major Anastasia Lihn works on her assignments in the Undergraduate Library on n Monday, Mar. 7, 2022.

Editorial: Give professors discretion over mask use in classrooms

By Editorial Board | Mar. 8

"Some students, faculty and staff — especially those who are at increased risk for COVID-19 — find this change to be worrisome. With the inability to move classes online, class instructors should be able to regulate the mask requirements for their own classrooms."

Senior psychology major Juliet Alegria "double masks" to study in Davis Library on Friday, Jan. 7, 2022.

Orange County to lift indoor mask mandate on March 7

By Emmy Martin | Mar. 1

Orange County will lift its indoor mask mandate on March 7 at 5 p.m, Board of County Commissioners Chairperson Renee Price announced in a board meeting Tuesday.

Orange County Schools Superintendent Monique Felder speaks at the beginning of a OCS Board of Education meeting on Monday, Feb. 21, 2022.

Editorial: Orange County School Board lifts mask mandate prematurely

By Editorial Board | Feb. 22

"Our 'return to normalcy' must be gradual. COVID-19 precautions should only be removed after the consequences of these actions are fully understood. Public input — as well as that of public health experts — should guide our decision-making, not just the guidance of politicians."

An anti-mask mandate message written in chalk in front of the South Building declares, "No more forced treatment! Make masks optional," on Feb. 17, 2022. Similar messages have been appearing on the walkways of main campus sporadically over the course of this past week.

Column: Unmask 'Unmask UNC'

By Caitlyn Yaede | Feb. 17

"If you’re passionate about changing campus policies — and not just riling up the readers of your message who happen to walk by it — you would not leave your message in cowardly anonymity. The appropriate forum for these difficult discussions shouldn’t be threatened by some rain or passersby with water bottles."

Gov. Roy Cooper speaks Thursday at Pizzeria Mercato in Carrboro, which recently implemented a vaccination requirement to dine there.

Gov. Roy Cooper encourages schools to end mask mandates

By Lauren McCarthy | Feb. 17

"Today, I'm encouraging them to end mask requirements," Gov. Roy Cooper said in a press conference Thursday.

Students attend class on Thursday in a half-empty lecture hall while the rest of the class watches through Zoom as COVID-19 cases remain high on campus.

Editorial: Living with COVID-19 appears inevitable

By Editorial Board | Jan. 27

"As European countries move forward, the future of COVID-19 policies in the U.S. and on college campuses remains uncertain. The return to normalcy, however, seems inevitable as UNC prepares to return to fully in-person instruction by mid-February."

Editorial: Students deserve accessible PPE against COVID-19

By Editorial Board | Jan. 26

"Supplying our most basic needs in the pandemic should not rest solely on the shoulders of student leaders. UNC has a responsibility to provide high-quality PPE to students."