North Carolina will begin Phase 3 of its reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic at 5 p.m. on Friday.
Governor Roy Cooper made the announcement on Wednesday, saying his administration was “cautiously encouraged” to move forward with reopening.
“I believe that North Carolina can do this safely,” Cooper said. “But so I am clear, every gathering carries the risk of spreading this disease. Being safe means being smart and making sure others around you are doing the same.”
Phase 3 will allow smaller outdoor venues, or places with under 10,000 seats, to reopen at either 30 percent capacity or 100 people, whichever is less. Other businesses like movie theaters, conference centers, outdoor amusement parks will also be able to operate at 30 percent occupancy.
Bars in North Carolina — which have been closed since the beginning of the pandemic — will be allowed to reopen with exclusively outdoor capacity at 30 percent or 100 patrons. The curfew the state put on alcohol sales in July has been extended with this order.
The governor previously said large outdoor event venues, including sports stadiums, can open at seven percent capacity. For UNC, this means Kenan Stadium can welcome back roughly 3,500 fans for home football games.
Gathering restrictions will stay the same in Phase 3: 25 people indoors and 50 people outdoors.
Orange County initially elected to remain with previous restrictions during North Carolina’s move into Phase 2.5, but has decided to move forward with Cooper’s executive orders for Phase 3. As such, restrictions on gathering sizes, bar operations, restaurant seating in Orange County have been changed to match the rest of the state.
However, Orange County officials said they will be closely monitoring ongoing testing data. Commissioner Penny Rich said maintaining public health will be the priority over staying aligned with North Carolina’s order.
“This is just a warning that if those parties are not contained and people aren’t vigilant and play by the rules,” said Rich, “the mayors and I can easily pull those gathering sizes back. That is not a problem if it is being abused and it is being abused by more than one group of people. It is absolute what we will do.”
Mask wearing is still mandatory while in public, extending an order given by the governor in July.
North Carolina health officials continue to urge residents to follow the three W’s: wearing masks, washing hands and waiting six feet apart. Cooper and Dr. Mandy Cohen, the Secretary for North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services, said continued vigilance of these public health measures will help the state continue to keep its “fragile” stability in coronavirus trends in check.
Phase 3 is initially slated to run through October 23, but Cooper’s administration extended Phase 2 several times as the pandemic spread through North Carolina.
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