As states begin to make judgement on when they will plan to reopen themselves, different plans and strategies on easing social distancing restrictions are being announced. Today, Governor Roy Cooper made the official announcement that North Carolina will extend the stay-at-home order through May 8th. Additionally, he brought up a specific plan broken into three phases that explains how North Carolina will ease restrictions in the following weeks. Here is the current plan
PHASE 1:
- Stay-at-home order remains in place, people can leave home for commercial activity
- Those retailers and services will need to implement social distancing, cleaning and other protocols
- Gatherings are still limited to no more than 10 people
- Parks can open subject to gathering limits
- Face coverings are recommended in public
- Restrictions remain in place for nursing homes and other congregate living settings
- Encouraging continued teleworking
PHASE 2 (at least 2-3 weeks after Phase 1):
- Lift the stay-at-home order with strong encouragement for vulnerable populations to continue staying at home
- Allow limited opening of restaurants, bars and other businesses that can follow strict safety protocols and reduced capacity
- Allow gathering at houses of worship and entertainment venues at reduced capacity
- Increase the number of people allowed at gatherings
- Open public playgrounds
- Continue rigorous restrictions on nursing homes
PHASE 3 (at least 4-6 weeks after Phase 2):
- Ease restrictions for vulnerable populations while encouraging social distancing
- Allow increased capacity at restaurants, bars, other businesses, churches, and entertainment venues
- Further increase the number of people allowed at gatherings
- Continue rigorous restrictions on nursing homes
Make sure to continue staying home, continue washing your hands, and continue being positive! The little things you do make a tremendous impact on how well we flatten the curve and pick ourselves up after this. Whether you're from Charlotte, Boone, Raleigh, Wilmington, Old Fort or anywhere in between, we're all in this together.