Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to rise at concerning levels across North Carolina. For that reason, Governor Roy Cooper is extending restrictions on gatherings and tightening requirements on mask-wearing. And as Pender County becomes one of 21 counties with substantial community spread, state officials hope local governments will follow Greensboro’s example.
Starting the day before Thanksgiving, a face covering will be required in all indoor settings if there are people from different households present – regardless of distance.
Masks will be required in gyms during exercise and in restaurants unless guests are actively eating and drinking.
Retail businesses with more than 15,000 square feet of space must station a worker at public entrances to enforce mask-wearing and capacity limits.
With law enforcement stretched thin, Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan says her City, through an enhanced State of Emergency Order, is finding other ways to ensure compliance.
"As of Friday, we gave our City Manager the ability to utilize other departments, such as Code Enforcement, Special Events, and Parking Enforcement to enforce the existing regulations and restrictions. We enacted a penalty for exceeding permitted capacity."
Mayor Vaughan also says compliance teams, made up of these other City employees, will check for mask enforcement among employees of businesses and after one warning will close non-compliant businesses for increasing amounts of time with each violation.
The Governor’s Executive Order is effective through December 11th.
To read Executive Order 180 in its entirety, follow this link:
https://files.nc.gov/governor/documents/files/EO180-Face-Coverings-Requirements.pdf
To view the Covid County Alert Report and map, follow this link:
https://files.nc.gov/covid/documents/dashboard/COVID-19-County-Alert-System-Report.pdf