CHARLOTTE, N.C. — North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper announced Tuesday a statewide modified stay-at-home order and a nighttime curfew as the state continues to see record increases in positive cases of COVID-19 and hospitalizations.
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.
“Our trends are alarming. More than 80% of our counties are in the orange and red categories,” Gov. Roy Cooper said. “The virus is upon us with a rapid viciousness we haven’t seen before. Even though we’re all frustrated and weary of the fight, it’s more important than ever to take this virus seriously.”
The order will go into affect on Friday, December 11th at 5pm and will require people to stay at home between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
“Businesses, including restaurants, bars, entertainment venues, personal care businesses, most retail stores and more, will be required to close by 10 p.m. In addition, all onsite alcohol consumption sales must end by 9 p.m.,” Gov. Roy Cooper said.
Gov. Cooper says that the order is to aim to limit gatherings and get people to stay home where it is safer. Following this statement, the governor stated that if trends do not improve that more actions will be taken.
“That could mean additional actions involving indoor restaurant dining, entertainment facilities or retail capacity. None of us want that. All these small businesses need more federal help. Congress and the President need to do that now,” Gov. Cooper said.
“We already have strong safety protocols and capacity limitations in place – including a statewide mask requirement. With this additional action beginning Friday, we hope to get these numbers down,” Governor Cooper said. “Our new modified Stay At Home order aims to limit gatherings and get people home where they are safer, especially during the holidays. It’s also a reminder that we must be vigilant the rest of the day – wearing a face mask when we are with people we don’t live with, keeping a safe distance from others and washing our hands a lot.”
