Gov. Roy Cooper says the hard work of North Carolinians has prevented an overwhelming spike in COVID-19 cases in the state. However, Cooper also notes that there is still no vaccine and the coronavirus continues to circulate in communities.
At a Tuesday evening media briefing, Gov. Cooper announced he has signed a new executive order that moves the state into “Phase 1” of lifting the COVID-19 restrictions. The new executive order goes into effect on Friday, May 8, at 5 PM.
Under the “Phase 1” reopening:
- More businesses will be allowed to open
- Retail stores may allow up to 50% capacity
- Residents can leave home to visit any open business
- Encourages parks and trails to open
- Restaurants remain closed to in-room dining
- Gatherings/crowd size still limited to ten individuals
- Employers are still encouraged to have employees work from home if/when possible
Gov. Cooper’s “Stay-at-Home” executive order was currently scheduled to expire on Friday, May 8. However, Cooper says that order will remain in place but will be modified for more reasons to leave home and will allow for more commercial activity.
Click here to read Gov. Cooper’s latest executive order.
As of Tuesday, there were 12,256 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in North Carolina. 452 of those cases have resulted in death.
Wayne County was reporting 681 total positive cases of COVID-19 as of Tuesday afternoon. When you break that total down, 470 cases are inmates at Neuse Correctional Institution in Goldsboro, 43 come from congregate care facilities in the county, and 168 of the COVID-19 cases come from outside congregate living facilities. So far, there have been 12 COVID-19 deaths in Wayne County, with two reported at Neuse Correctional and eight from other congregate care facilities in the county.
