N.C. COVID-19 gathering guidelines relaxed, still requires face coverings in public indoor settings
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North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced on Tuesday that the state will continue to ease some COVID-19 restrictions. Executive Order No. 204 will take effect on Friday at 5 p.m. and is set to expire April 30. The state’s general mask mandate remains in effect.
“Our fast and fair vaccine distribution and our sustained progress with the COVID-19 metrics tell us we can move forward with easing restrictions if we do it safely,” Cooper said.
North Carolina’s trends continue to show improvement and vaccine distribution increases with 31.7 percent of North Carolinians over 18 having received at least one dose of vaccine. On the local level, Clay County Health Director Clarissa Rogers said the health department has vaccinated the majority of its waiting list.
“We’re still working through people with pre-existing health conditions and some of the essential workers, but we’ve gotten through most of them,” Rogers said.
“With Ingles and Walgreens coming through, it’s just been a huge blessing having them help with vaccinations. It looks like the state may also be getting more Johnson & Johnson vaccines, but they are trying to focus those more toward events and target populations like inmates who you’ll probably only get once and won’t see again.”
Across the state line, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp announced on Tuesday that, as of today, all Georgians ages 16 and older are now eligible to receive a vaccine. Georgia has, to this point, lagged behind the vast majority of states in vaccine distribution.
According to the CDC website, Georgia has been shipped the second-fewest doses of any state per 100,000 residents. But Georgia received 450,000 more vaccines this week and expects an increase in Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson shipments next week. The majority of those doses have been allocated to north Georgia, where demand is the greatest.
North Carolina’s Executive Order No. 204 has three general categories of occupancy restrictions: up to 100 percent capacity, 75 percent capacity, and 50 percent capacity. All businesses must continue to maintain the 6 feet of distance requirement between patrons and implement other safety protocols as they expand their capacity.
“We are in a promising place,” NCDHHS Secretary Mandy K. Cohen said. “With North Carolina’s COVID-19 key metrics improving and vaccinations increasing, we can responsibly use our dimmer switch approach to easing restrictions guided by science and data.”
Executive Order No. 204 will also increase mass gathering limits. The number of people who may gather indoors will increase from 25 to 50 and the number of people who may gather outdoors will increase from 50 to 100. This order also fully lifts the restriction on the late-night sale and service of alcoholic beverages on bars, restaurants and other establishments.
Venues that can operate indoors and outdoors up to 100 percent capacity include retail businesses, salons, personal care and grooming businesses, tattoo parlors, museums and aquariums.
Those that can operate indoors up to 75 percent and outdoors up to 100 percent capacity include restaurants, breweries, wineries and distilleries, recreation (e.g., bowling, skating, rock climbing, fitness and physical activity facilities (e.g., gyms, yoga studios, fitness centers), pools and amusement parks.
Venues that can operate indoors and outdoors up to 50 percent capacity include bars, movie theaters, gaming facilities, meeting, reception and conference spaces, lounges and night clubs, auditoriums, arenas and other venues for live performances, and sports arenas and fields (includes professional, collegiate, and amateur).
For a detailed outline of guidelines visit: www.nc.gov/covid-19/staying-ahead-curve.