After a recent block party in Hillsborough violated the county and statewide stay at home orders, the town’s mayor is reminding residents the importance of not holding big gatherings.

Both Orange County and Governor Roy Cooper’s stay at home orders, which are extensions of the states of emergency issued because of the COVID-19 pandemic, limit gatherings to no more than 10 people. According to a release from Hillsborough Police on Monday, the party at the 500 block of Riddle Road had between 30 and 50 people there. After residents failed to disperse an hour after being warned, the police announced everyone there was violating the order and stayed on-scene until the area was cleared.

Hillsborough Mayor Jenn Weaver spoke with 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck about the incident. She reminded residents to comply with the order as positive coronavirus cases in Orange County continue to rise.

“We can’t be having big parties right now, we just can’t,” said Weaver. “I know it’s tempting, I know it’s the time of the year when spring is in the air and it feels good to be outside. But we’re just going to have to hold off.”

Weaver said the county’s order, and the town’s role in enforcing it, is less about punishing residents and more about protecting public health during the ongoing outbreak.

“The order works best when we use it as an educational tool,” she said, “and we work with individuals and businesses to be in compliance with the order. Using [punishment] is not in anyone’s interest and it’s frustrating that this is the way this [incident] turned out.”

The mayor said the town’s input page for concerns about violations of the stay at home order has gotten a lot of submissions since it was enacted on March 27.

“There are a lot of questions,” she said. “But the goal is to keep the police out of it as much as possible. They’re only responding to urgently unsafe situations. When you have that many people at a party, that’s not going to be safe under our current circumstances.”

According to the North Carolina general statutes, the violation of a governor’s executive order involving a state of emergency is worth a class 2 misdemeanor charge. CBS 17 reports Mitchell has hired an attorney and plans to dispute the charge.

Orange County’s stay at home order is slated to run through the end of the month, although the county is able to extend the order if they choose.

 

Note: 97.9 The Hill has been Chapel Hill and Orange County’s daily source for free local news since 1953. Please consider making a donation to continue supporting important local journalism like this.

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