From Staff Reports 

RALEIGH —  Gov. Roy Cooper and Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, on Dec. 8 announced that North Carolina will begin a Modified Stay at Home Order after a rapid increase in North Carolina’s key COVID-19 trends. 

The order requires people to stay at home between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. and became effective Dec. 11. The order will be in place until at least Jan. 8, 2021. 

“We already have strong safety protocols and capacity limitations in place – including a statewide mask requirement. With this additional action beginning Friday, we hope to get these numbers down,” Cooper said during the press briefing. 

“Our new modified Stay-At-Home order aims to limit gatherings and get people home where they are safer, especially during the holidays. It’s also a reminder that we must be vigilant the rest of the day – wearing a face mask when we are with people we don’t live with, keeping a safe distance from others and washing our hands a lot.” 

A press release from the governor’s office added that “the order requires restaurants, bars, entertainment venues, personal care businesses and more to close at 10 p.m.. Travel to and from work; to obtain food, medical care, fuel or social services; or to take care of a family member is exempted.”

Further, the release stated, “In the past week, North Carolina’s case count has broken single-day records on three separate days, including crossing more than 6,000 cases per day on two of those days. Just a month ago, cases were under 3,000 per day. In recent days, the percent of tests returning positive has increased to more than 10 percent.

“Governor Cooper was clear that further action would be taken to slow the spread of the virus if trends do not improve. This could require further limiting of restaurant dining, indoor entertainment or shopping and retail capacity restrictions, among other safety protocols,” the release noted.

Meanwhile, the other featured speaker at the news briefing, Cohen, provided an update on North Carolina’s COVID-19 County Alert System map.

To that end, the release said Cohen pointed out that “the number of red counties (critical community spread) has more than doubled since Nov. 23, up to 48 red counties from 20 red counties. There are now 34 orange counties (substantial community spread), as compared to 42 orange counties from the previous report. With today’s (Dec. 8) report, more than 80 percent of the state’s counties fall into the red or orange tier.”

Cohen told those attending and/or watching online the briefing, “Your actions can keep people from getting sick, save lives and make sure our hospitals can care for people whether it’s for a heart attack or a car accident or COVID-19. Protect yourself, your loved ones, and your community now.

Cohen also provided the following update on North Carolina’s data and trends at the Dec. 8 briefing: