Raleigh, NC – On Wednesday, Gov. Roy Cooper extended a curfew, a moratorium on evictions and rules allowing restaurants and bars to serve mixed drinks as the North Carolina coronavirus pandemic continues to rage.
Current orders for all three are expected to expire on Sunday, but new executive orders have pushed that back to the end of February for curfews and the end of March for evictions and drinks.
“The virus is still raging through our communities,” Cooper said at a news conference this afternoon. “There is still work to be done. Especially in these cold winter months we cannot let our guard down.”
North Carolina reported a further 139 deaths from coronavirus on Wednesday, which is the fifth time in a week that the number is above 100. The last week was the deadliest during the pandemic, with 715 deaths statewide.
Meanwhile, another 5,587 coronavirus infections were reported in the state on Wednesday, and there were 3,305 people in hospitals with COVID-19.
Cooper and Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the State Department of Health and Human Services, noted that North Carolina virus trends have stabilized in recent days from a spike earlier in January. But the percentage of positive virus tests remains in double digits – it’s averaging 11.2 percent over the past week – well above the state’s 5 percent target range.
“We are past the peak of the winter holidays, but we are still experiencing worrying virus levels,” Cohen said.
The 10PM to 5AM curfew was instituted in early December to prevent people from hanging out in groups until late at night during the holidays, increasing the risk of transmission of the coronavirus. Most businesses must close by 10 PM and restaurants and bars must stop selling alcohol for consumption on site by 9 PM
But restaurants can continue filling out takeout and delivery orders after 10pm, and Cooper issued a separate fulfillment order last month allowing them to serve mixed drinks with those orders to make up for some of the revenue lost under curfew went.
Cooper said he chose different dates for curfew and drink orders to give restaurant owners some stability, as the state official continues to monitor virus trends for any necessary changes to security protocols.
“We believe this is a good economic boost for those companies that have really struggled,” he said. “We wanted to make sure they had extra income during this time.”
The evictions have been put on hold since last spring, as people affected by pandemic-related business closures are struggling to pay their rent. President Joe Biden last week extended a similar nationwide moratorium on evictions through March.
“Keeping people at home is an important way to slow the spread of the virus,” Cooper said.
Vaccinations against the coronavirus in NC
The moves come because North Carolina is struggling not only with the spreading virus, but also efforts to vaccinate people against it.
North Carolina has so far given out more than 99 percent of the first doses of coronavirus vaccine it has received from the federal government to date, Cooper said.
“The sticking point for our state and the nation right now is that there isn’t enough vaccine,” he said.
Find out more about COVID-19 vaccine clinics near you.
Due to the limited supply, some provinces have had to limit vaccination agreements in recent days.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced plans to increase weekly vaccine shipments to states by 16 percent over the next three weeks. Cooper said that additional supply “will help, but we need a lot more.”
The governor encouraged counties to continue making arrangements for vaccinations, focus on health workers and people 65 or older, and establish waiting lists so that people are ready to get their shot as soon as the state has enough vaccine for them.