Governor Roy Cooper announced on Wednesday his Phase 2 of reopening North Carolina will continue for three more weeks.
The governor’s stay-at-home order was slated to expire on Friday. But the new order extending Phase 2 is due to the state seeing rising trends of daily positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, according to state health officials.
In an effort to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, the governor announced face coverings while in public will now be required.
“This is not where we want to be and not where we planned to be,” said Cooper. “I urge everyone to be a leader in wearing face coverings. Slowing the spread helps our economy and these face coverings do that. The safety and health of our people is our top priority as we navigate this challenge.”
When asked why the state is moving to a mask requirement now instead of before, Cooper said recent studies have showed the latest data supporting such measures. He said the state’s response team relied on “overwhelming evidence” from other states and countries who had mandatory mask policies to choose their own requirement. The governor cited wanting to continue pushing the economy forward, as well as schools be able to return to in-person instruction in the fall, as reasons to try and stop the rising case numbers.
North Carolina is now averaging more than 17,000 coronavirus tests per day, which Dr. Mandy Cohen of the state Department of Health and Human Services praised. But she cited the rising trajectory of positive cases and hospitalizations as concerning metrics that supported waiting to move into Phase 3.
“These concerning trends remind us that if left unchecked, the virus will continue to spread,” said Cohen. “But we have the power to get these trends moving back in the right direction. Wearing a face covering in public settings is a simple but powerful action to slow the spread of this virus. The scientific evidence is compelling, [but] face coverings only fully work when we all do it.”
Dr. Mandy Cohen of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and a sign language interpreter share a graphic showing North Carolina’s increasing COVID-19 trends. (Photo via UNC TV.)
Cooper said this new order could be enforced by law enforcement officers if businesses do not require their employees to wear masks when in a public-facing business. Patrons who refuse to wear a mask when visiting a business could face actions from law enforcement and violations of trespassing laws. Arrests are not authorized for not wearing a mask, but Cooper encouraged North Carolinians to hold each other accountable.
“The responsibility here is on the businesses and organizations to make sure their employees and customers wear these face coverings,” said the governor. “That’s where law enforcement can make their citations. We want people wearing these face coverings when they’re out in public places and are unable to stay six feet apart. The science is overwhelming and our numbers keep going up.”
Dennis Taylor, the president of the North Carolina Nurses Association, joined Cooper on Wednesday and voiced his group’s support of a mask requirement.
“As many North Carolinians have increased activity in recent weeks, our jobs as nurses have been getting even harder as the number of cases in hospitals and clinics have continued to climb,” Taylor said. “We support these methods because they are scientifically proven and evidence-based. Please trust this advice: it’s not political, it’s not an exaggeration.”
Earlier in the day, leaders in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey asked for travelers from North Carolina to self-isolate for 14 days before visiting due to the state’s high infection rates. Presented as a travel advisory, the move aims to prevent people bringing new COVID-19 cases into states recovering from outbreaks.
When asked at his media availability if there were people to blame for the coronavirus’ continuing spread in the state, Cooper said he believed “North Carolinians have overall done well” by avoiding a big surge of cases. But he stressed in order to go further with reopening, even more compliance and vigilance to public health standards will be needed.
“There’s a lot of people, unfortunately, that are intentionally not wearing masks and not social distancing,” said Cooper. “When that happens, there’s much more of an opportunity for this virus to spread. We hope with this pause in our phases and this mandatory mask requirement, we can continue our process in phasing, easing restrictions and get our children back in school.”
Wednesday’s announcement indicates Cooper will not sign a bill from the General Assembly to reopen bars and gyms into law. An override veto of an earlier bill to reopen such businesses that Cooper vetoed has been scheduled, which could undermine the governor’s orders.
Cooper said a three-week extension was selected so health experts can use that time to fully examine how this pause in the state’s reopening will affect the overall trends. He said the COVID-19 response team will re-evaluate whether to move into the next reopening phase by July 17.
Photo via the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees. You can support local journalism and our mission to serve the community. Contribute today – every single dollar matters.
Comments on Chapelboro are moderated according to our Community Guidelines