Coronavirus: NC Gov. Roy Cooper will extend stay-at-home order through May 8

Updated April 28 to clarify the COVID-19 trends NC will monitor. 

RALEIGH - North Carolina's stay-at-home order will extend through May 8, Gov. Roy Cooper announced April 23. 

Based on the requirements Cooper set out, NC would have to see immediate improvements in COVID-19 trends — including cases reported and hospitalization rates — starting April 24 to consider reopening May 9. 

Public health officials say the trends in those statistics to date, coupled with a planned increase in testing across the state, make that unlikely. 

"After a thorough analysis of the details of testing, tracing and trends, it's clear we are flattening the curve," Cooper said. "But our state is not loosening restrictions yet."

"I know people want their lives and their livelihoods back," he said, "but first we need to hit certain metrics because the health and safety of North Carolinians is our number one priority."

The prohibition against dining in at restaurants and bars will continue, Cooper said, as will the "close contact" businesses listed in previous executive orders, including hair salons, nail salons and movie theaters. 

Minimum 2-month process of easing restrictions  

Cooper spelled out the stages North Carolina will use to gradually ease restrictions once trends improve. 

"If our infections spike or our benchmark trends start to move in the wrong direction, we may have to move back to a previous phase to protect public health," Cooper emphasized. 

Phase 1

• Stay-at-home order remains in place, but people can leave home for more commercial activities (including shopping at certain retail stores).
• Retailers and services will need to implement social distancing, cleaning and other protocols.
• Gatherings limited to no more than 10 people.
• Parks can open, subject to gathering limits.
• Face coverings recommended in public.
• Restrictions remain in place for nursing homes and other congregate living settings.
• Continued teleworking encouraged.

Phase 2, can only begin 2-3 weeks after Phase 1 begins 

• Stay-at-home order lifted with strong encouragement for vulnerable populations to continue staying at home.
• Limited opening of restaurants, bars and other businesses that can follow strict safety protocols while operating at reduced capacity.
• Houses of worship and entertainment venues can host gatherings at reduced capacity.
• Number of people allowed at gatherings increased.
• Public playgrounds reopen.
• Rigorous restrictions on nursing homes and congregant care settings.

Phase 3, can only begin 4-6 weeks after Phase 2 begins

• Guidance for vulnerable populations loosened.
• Restaurants, bars, houses of worship and other businesses can increase capacity.
• Number of people allowed at gatherings further increased.

How do we know when to start easing restrictions? 

Dr. Mandy Cohen, Secretary of NC Department of Health and Human Services, enumerated what trends the state needs to see before moving into Phase 1. 

First, North Carolina needs to meet several capacity benchmarks, she said.

• Increase daily testing from 2,500-3,000 people per day to 5,000-7,000 per day.
• Contract tracers — double staff statewide from 250 to 500. 
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) — adequate supplies to fill requests for at least 30 days.

Then, various measures of the virus' spread must suggest sustained improvement. 

• Downward trajectory of COVID-like syndromic cases for 14 days.
• Number of additional cases must decrease or show sustained leveling for 14 days.
• Downward trajectory of positive tests as a percentage of total tests over 14 days.
• Downward trajectory of hospitalizations over 14 days.

On April 21, hundreds of protesters gathered in Raleigh streets to demand an end to the state's stay-at-home order. 

A private Facebook group called REOPEN NC has swollen to over 66,000 members since its creation on April 7. 

More:See what the 'Reopen NC' protest in Raleigh looked like amid stay-at-home order

While most Republican legislators have supported Cooper's decision to extend aggressive social distancing measures, the governor has faced mounting pressure to ease some restrictions on business in order to give the state's sputtering economy a chance to breathe. 

Buncombe restrictions to continue indefinitely 

Buncombe County public health officials announced April 8 that the local "Stay Home, Stay Safe" order would continue indefinitely. 

Each North Carolina county has the authority to create and enforce their own stay-at-home orders that can be stricter than the governor's statewide orders, which he has described as the "minimum required." 

More:'Don't want to waste the sacrifices we've made': Buncombe officials address 'reopen' protests

Buncombe's emergency preparedness director Fletcher Tove likened lifting COVID-19 restrictions too early to taking off a parachute mid-fall.

"If we get rid of our parachute too early, we'll go into another free fall and if we have time to throw out another one, it will be smaller and more painful," Tove said April 20. "So, we don’t want to waste the sacrifices we’ve made in our community by opening too early or too quickly.”

More:'A new normal': What it will take for NC to reopen for business

Elizabeth Anne Brown is the trending news reporter for the Citizen Times. Reach her at eabrown@citizentimes.com, or follow her on Twitter @eabrown18.

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