Per the governor’s Executive Order No. 181, North Carolina has begun a Modified Stay at Home Order after a rapid increase in North Carolina’s key COVID-19 trends. The Order requires people to stay at home between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. The order took effect Friday, Dec. 11 and will be in place until at least Friday, Jan. 8, 2021.
The Order requires restaurants, bars, entertainment venues, personal care businesses and more to close at 10 p.m. Travel to and from work; to obtain food, medical care, fuel or social services; or to take care of a family member is exempted.Read more in the Frequently Asked Questions document at https://files.nc.gov/governor/documents/files/EO-181-FAQ.pdf. The full text of Executive Order No. 181 can be read at https://files.nc.gov/…/EO181-Modified-Stay-at-Home…. Comments or concerns about the executive order should be directed to the Governor’s Office.
In the past week, North Carolina’s case count has broken single-day records on three separate days, including crossing more than 6,000 cases per day on two of those days. Just a month ago, cases were under 3,000 per day. In recent days, the percent of tests returning positive has increased to more than 10%.
Governor Cooper said further action would be taken to slow the spread of the virus if trends do not improve. This could require further limiting of restaurant dining, indoor entertainment or shopping and retail capacity restrictions, among other safety protocols.On Friday, NCDHHS Secretary Mandy K. Cohen, M.D also provided an update on North Carolina’s COVID-19 County Alert System map (https://files.nc.gov/…/COVID-19-County-Alert-System…)
The number of red counties (critical community spread) has more than doubled since Nov. 23, up to 48 red counties from 20 red counties. There are now 34 orange counties (substantial community spread), as compared to 42 orange counties from the previous report. As of Friday’s report, more than 80% of the state’s counties fall into the red or orange tier.
People can protect themselves and others against the spread of the coronavirus by following the Executive Order and remembering “the three Ws” from the N.C. Dept. of Health and Human Services:
• Wear a face covering
• Wash your hands for 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer and
• Wait 6 feet apart from other people to keep your distance.