North Carolina will continue to ease its coronavirus restrictions later this week. At a press briefing Tuesday, Gov. Roy Cooper said North Carolina continues to see improvements in its COVID-19 metrics. So, Gov. Cooper says the state can start easing some of its maximum occupancy limits starting this Friday, March 26, at 5 PM.
Under Gov. Cooper’s new executive order:
- Some businesses can operate up to 100% occupancy with safety protocols in place including:
- Museums
- Aquariums
- Retail businesses and shops
- Barbers/salons/personal care
- Some businesses can operate at up to 75% capacity indoors and 100% capacity outdoors with safety protocols in place including:
- Restaurants
- Breweries and wineries
- Amusement Parks
- Gyms and pools
- Some business settings can increase capacity up to 50% with safety protocols in place including:
- Conference Centers
- Bars
- Sports arenas
- Other live performance venues
- The 11 PM curfew for on-site alcohol consumption will be lifted.
- The mass gathering limit is increased to 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors.
- The mask mandate will stay in effect.
Gov. Cooper notes masks and six feet of social distancing will be required for all of these establishments, which means some of them may not be able to reach the maximum occupancy allowed by the order.
Cooper says the pandemic is not over yet, and North Carolinians still need to follow safety protocols.
