Cary will stop requiring masks to be worn indoors. Here’s when the mandate expires.

Cary will end its indoor mask mandate at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 29, Mayor Harold Weinbrecht announced Thursday “in response to the falling COVID-19 infection rates.”

A mask mandate has been in effect since Aug. 18, when the town issued a proclamation requiring face coverings in all public and private indoor spaces.

The town’s decision to end its mandate makes it the first among Wake County municipalities to do so among those that reinstated masking requirements in August as the delta variant caused COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations to spike.

Wake County issued its own mask mandate that applies to unincorporated areas and five towns that signed onto it. The county is expected to extend its current mandate, which is set to expire on Nov. 1, The News & Observer reported.

Raleigh, which also issued its own mandate, is refraining from relaxing requirements until Wake decides to do so, in order to “be consistent in our message,” Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin told The N&O.

Other Triangle counties like Durham and Orange enacted mandates that are in effect indefinitely.

Durham and Orange County officials told The N&O they won’t end their mandates until the level of community spread, and the risk of strain on local hospitals decreases.

As of Oct. 28, Wake and Durham counties both have high community transmission of COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Orange County has substantial community transmission, which is one level lower.

The N&O asked county and municipal leaders what needs to happen in order for mask mandates to be lifted. See what they said here.