MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. (WNCT) — The Carteret County Public Schools Board of Education met in an emergency meeting on Wednesday and voted to change its mask mandate for the first two weeks of the upcoming school year.

WNCT’s Kayla reports the board voted 4-2 to require the masks for students and staff for the first two weeks of the school year. The board plans to meet again on Sept. 7, evaluate the decision and decide if it should stay in place longer or if the decision to make masks optional can be put back into place.

On July 29, the board of education voted unanimously to make masks optional for the school year.

The change in course comes after Gov. Roy Cooper, NC DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen, and State Health Director Dr. Betsey Tilson sent a letter to school boards that have failed to adopt the StrongSchoolsNC NC Public Health Toolkit urging them to protect their students and staff in the new school year.

Click here to read about the decision and for more details from Carteret County Public Schools.