RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – North Carolina has 763 known cases of COVID-19 and three deaths as of Friday morning, health officials said.
The new case total is up from 636 on Thursday, and 504 on Wednesday.
During a 4 p.m. press conference Friday, Gov. Roy Cooper announced he has signed a stay-at-home order. It will go into effect at 5 p.m. Monday, March 30 and will be valid for 30 days, through April 29.
It can be revised or extended if necessary.
The stay-at-home order directs all residents in North Carolina to stay home unless going out for essentials such as their job, food, medicine, outdoor exercise or to help someone else.
People are allowed to visit friends and family, but should not do so if there is no urgent need.
Violation of the order is a class 2 misdemeanor.
The order also means essential services can continue. Those businesses need to have social distancing policies.
During the press conference Friday, Cooper and other state officials said the state has already had more than 200,000 unemployment claims filed. Those benefits will be paid early next week.
All three coronavirus-related deaths in North Carolina involved patients who had underlying health issues.
The third death was announced Friday morning by Johnston County officials.
2 of the 3 people were over the age of 65, NCDHHS data shows, but one was just 37 years old. Adrian Grubbs, a father of three, worked for the city of Raleigh.
His wife is urging others to take the virus seriously.
“Originally, I didn’t take it serious. Until and then things like that hit close to home, you know? It’s a wake-up call,” said Adrian’s wife, Chanda Grubbs.
So far more than 15,000 people have been tested across the state.
This breaking article will be updated.