North Carolinians in airports, buses and train stations will need to remain masked at all times until at least July 30 under a new executive order issued on Friday.

Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper extended the state of emergency, which the state has been under since March 2020. While COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths have plummeted as more people have gotten vaccinated, the governor said residents must remain safe and that his directive will help the state turn the corner on the pandemic.

Cooper also moved to extend his mask wearing requirement at schools and health care settings.

“This is no time to hang up a ‘Mission Accomplished’ banner in our fight against the pandemic,” Cooper said in a news release. “We are laser focused on getting more shots in arms, boosting our economy and protecting unvaccinated people from the virus and this executive order is essential for those efforts.”

While the governor extended many of the provisions of an existing directive that had been set to expire at 5 p.m. Friday, the statewide eviction moratorium remains set to expire at the end of June.

 

Photo via the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.

 

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