At his Covid-19 press conference on Wednesday, June 24th, Governor Roy Cooper announced his decision to extend Phase II restrictions and require mandatory masks in public places.
With new cases of COVID-19 and hospitalizations continuing to climb, Cooper says now is not time to relax restrictions:
"North Carolina will pause and will continue our ‘safer at home’ Phase II for another three weeks. This is not where we planned to be or wanted to be, but it is one of two important decisions that we need to make to effectively fight this disease. The other important decision is requiring face coverings when people are out in public.”
Masks will be required where six-feet social distancing isn’t possible, and there will be exceptions for those with medical conditions and children under eleven.
The Governor also says he will re-evaluate the decision whether or not to move to Phase III on July 17th.