RALEIGH, N.C. (WAVY/WNCN) – Governor Roy Cooper has extended North Carolina’s stay-at-home order until May 8.
“We need to slow the virus before we can ease restrictions, so today I’m extending the stay-at-home order until May 8. This includes continued closure of dine-in restaurants, bars and close-contact businesses like hair and nail salons, movie theaters & others in Executive Order 120,” Cooper said during an April 23 live briefing.
He said his decision to extend the order was based on data, and that while it is clear North Carolina is flattering the curve, the state is still not ready to have restrictions lifted.
Gov. Cooper has previously said it’s all about the three “T’s” as far as when we’ll see restrictions start to ease – testing, tracing, and trends. He reiterated that statement during Thursdays briefing.
“I won’t risk the health of our people or our hospitals and easing these restrictions now would do that,” Cooper said.
Cooper’s stay-at-home order, Executive Order 121, went into effect March 30 at 5 p.m. and was set to expire next week, on April 29.
Reopening Plan
Using data and science and input from members of the business community, Cooper has developed a three stage reopening plan, which he also announced Thursday.
- The first will ease restrictions on the stay-at-home order which will allow some retailers to reopen. Mass gatherings of more than 10 will still be banned in this first phase.
- During phase 2, the stay-at-home order will be lifted, but vulnerable populations of the community will still be encouraged to stay at home. Houses of worship, restaurants, bars and other businesses will be allowed to reopen, at reduced capacity. During this phase, Gov. Cooper said the number of people allowed in a mass gathering will be increased.
- A month or so after phase 2 and if the state continues to hit benchmarks, North Carolina will enter the final phase. There will be increased capacity at bars, restaurants, other businesses and houses of worship and the mass gathering ban will increase again.
If there is a spike in COVID-19 cases or other data shows trends moving in the wrong direction, Gov. Cooper said he is prepared to move back to a previous phase to protect public health.
“As we’re doing now, we will continue to use the best science and data available to make those decisions and continue conversations with business and industry leaders,” Cooper said.
He said in response to a reporter’s question, that he will not move forward to a phase until it is safe to do so.
Flattening the Curve
Dr. Mandy Cohen, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, presented graphics Thursday that showed how North Carolina is flattening the curve. She said data shows the strongest weapon we have against COVID-19 is social distancing and that this is working. For instance, the rate of acceleration has slowed.
The state continues its work to increase testing.
“Usually we’re averaging about 2,500 tests per day. The last two days we’ve been somewhere between 5,000 and 7,000 which is where we want to be,” Cohen said.
The state is also working to increase the number of staff that tracks confirmed cases and determines who may have been exposed. Cohen said the number of cases and hospitalizations also needs to show a downward trend before reopening the state is possible.
Current Numbers
As of April 23, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services statistics show that 96,185 COVID-19 tests have been completed in the state – that means that less than 1% of North Carolina’s population has been tested for the virus.
Confirmed cases continue to trend up. There are currently 7,608 cases in North Carolina and at least 253 people have died so far.
Here’s the current county-by-county breakdown in the WAVY TV viewing area:
- Bertie County: 31 cases, 1 death (4 new cases)
- Chowan County: 6 cases, 0 deaths
- Currituck County: 2 cases, 0 deaths
- Dare County: 12 cases, 1 death (1 new case)
- Gates County: 6 cases, 0 deaths (2 new cases)
- Hertford County: 14 cases, 1 death (3 new cases)
- Northampton County: 74 cases, 2 deaths (1 new case)
- Pasquotank County: 33 cases, 1 death (1 new case)
- Perquimans County: 8 cases, 0 death
Dare County, which has been closed to visitors and non-resident property owners for more than a month, plans to lift some restrictions on May 4 – before the new stay-at-home order ends.
Many people are wondering – will students be able to finish out the school year in the classroom? Cooper said he’ll have that answer on Friday.