A new executive order from Governor Roy Cooper will ease some COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in North Carolina today.

Under Executive Order 204 — which will go into effect on Friday at 5 p.m. — some businesses will be allowed to increase capacity up to 100 percent indoors and outdoors with safety protocols in place. This includes museums, aquariums, retail businesses and shops, salons and personal care shops.

“The new order will allow some places to increase capacity up to 75 percent indoors and up to 100 percent outdoors,” Cooper said at a media briefing earlier this week. “They include restaurants, breweries, wineries, amusement parks, gyms and pools, and other recreation establishments.”

North Carolina will also lift its 11 p.m. curfew for on-site alcohol consumption. Cooper had previously modified the state’s alcohol curfew — extending sale hours from 10 to 11 p.m. — earlier this year.

Finally, the mass gathering limit within North Carolina, which covers other kinds of gatherings not laid out in the order, will be increased to 50 people indoors and 100 outdoors. The previous mass gathering limit was 25 indoors and 50 outdoors.

In regards to attendance at athletic events in Chapel Hill, UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham said that the new executive order will not affect the university significantly.

“The six-feet physical distancing requirement means that the capacities at our venues will not significantly change at this time,” wrote Cunningham. “We currently can fill about 22 percent of our seats in each of our venues with six-feet distancing, and we will continue to prioritize ticketing family members of student-athletes and coaches, as well as Carolina students.”

Safety protocols, such as the mandatory mask mandate, will remain in place across North Carolina.

This new executive order easing pandemic restrictions comes as North Carolina moves to open up vaccination eligibility for more residents.

In addition to moving up the remainder of Group 4 to March 31, Cooper announced that all residents 16 and older will be able to get the COVID-19 vaccine starting on April 7. The beginning of Group 4 – which includes individuals with high-risk medical conditions — initially began on March 17.

Data from North Carolina Health & Human Services shows that over 26 percent of North Carolina’s population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, with 15 percent having been fully vaccinated.

Featured image via Walt Unks/Winston-Salem Journal

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