Stay at Home
As North Carolina’s trends continue to show improvement and vaccine distribution increases with 31.7% of North Carolinians over 18 having received at least one dose of vaccine, Governor Roy Cooper announced today that the state will continue to ease some COVID-19 restrictions. Executive Order No. 204 will take effect March 26 at 5 pm is set to expire April 30 at 5 pm. The state’s general mask mandate remains in effect.
“Our fast and fair vaccine distribution and our sustained progress with the COVID-19 metrics tell us we can move forward with easing restrictions if we do it safely,” said Governor Cooper.
“We are in a promising place. With North Carolina’s COVID-19 key metrics improving and vaccinations increasing, we can responsibly use our dimmer switch approach to easing restrictions guided by science and data,” said NCDHHS Secretary Mandy K. Cohen, M.D.
Executive Order No. 204 has three general categories of occupancy restrictions: up to 100 percent capacity, 75 percent capacity, and 50 percent capacity. All businesses must continue to maintain the 6 feet of distance requirement between patrons and implement other safety protocols as they expand their capacity.
Executive Order No. 204 will also increase mass gathering limits. The number of people who may gather indoors will increase from 25 to 50 and the number of people who may gather outdoors will increase from 50 to 100. This Order also fully lifts the restriction on the late-night sale and service of alcoholic beverages on bars, restaurants, and other establishments.
Indoors and Outdoors up to 100% Capacity, Subject to Masks and 6 ft. Social Distancing
- Museums and Aquariums
- Retail Businesses
- Salons, personal care and grooming businesses, tattoo parlors
Indoors up to 75% and Outdoors up to 100% Capacity, Subject to Masks and 6 ft. Social Distancing
- Restaurants
- Breweries, Wineries, and Distilleries
- Recreation (e.g., bowling, skating, rock climbing)
- Fitness and Physical Activity Facilities (e.g., gyms, yoga studios, fitness centers)
- Pools
- Amusement Parks
Indoors and Outdoors up to 50% Capacity, Subject to Masks and 6 ft. Social Distancing
- Bars
- Movie Theaters*
- Gaming Facilities*
- Meeting, Reception, and Conference Spaces
- Lounges (including tobacco) and Night Clubs
- Auditoriums, Arenas, and other venues for live performances
- Sports Arenas and Fields (includes professional, collegiate, and amateur
*Movie theaters and gaming facilities may operate at up to 75% capacity outdoors.
Activities and settings are lower risk when they involve interacting with fewer people, being outside, keeping masks on the entire time, keeping interactions with people short (under 15 minutes), staying physically distant, and avoiding singing, yelling, and cheering, according to public health officials.
North Carolina is continuing to see fast and fair vaccine distribution. To date, the state has administered over 4.1 million doses. Over 31.7 percent of people 18 and up have received at least one dose, and 18.8 percent are fully vaccinated. Vaccine equity efforts remain a priority, with 18 percent of first doses administered to Black North Carolinians and 8 percent to members of the LatinX community last week.
DHHS also released updates to the K-12 guidance. Schools should return to in-person instruction to the fullest extent possible while following all public health protocols in the StrongSchoolsNC Toolkit. This update aligns with Session Law 2021-4, which Governor Cooper and bipartisan legislative leadership worked on together. Plan A has already been widely adopted across the state as districts, educators and support staff have worked hard to get students back in the classroom. The updated Toolkit no longer requires schools to do daily temperature checks and symptom screenings. Safety protocols such as masks and cleaning of high traffic areas are still required. Schools are also highly encouraged to conduct free screening testing as recommended by the CDC. (Read the updated Toolkit)
State health officials are continuing to monitor the presence of COVID-19 and its more contagious variants in North Carolina, which is why it is important to continue to have a mask mandate and continue to practice safety precautions, including the Three Ws—wear a mask, wait 6 feet apart, and wash hands often.
Read Executive Order No. 204.
The number of people who may gather indoors will increase from 25 to 50 and the number of people who may gather outdoors will increase from 50 to 100. This Order also fully lifts the restriction on the late-night sale and service of alcoholic beverages on bars, restaurants, and other establishments.Below are answers to some frequently asked questions about the Orange County stay at home order. Additional questions and answers are available on our COVID-19 FAQs page.
North Carolina Executive Order 169 (Phase 3) Frequently Asked Questions
North Carolina Executive Order 176 (Phase 3) Frequently Asked Questions
What remains the same under Phase 3?Under this order:
| What are the major changes under this Order?Under this order:
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Goals
The state stay at home order is intended to slow transmission of the virus, prevent overwhelming local hospitals and keep first responders safe.
North Carolina has continued to experience improvement in key COVID-19 metrics, including COVID-19 daily diagnoses, the percent of total COVID-19 tests that are positive, the number of emergency department visits that are due to COVID-like illnesses and the number of COVID-19 associated hospitalizations. Due to public health measures taken within the state, enhanced knowledge of the COVID-19 virus by public health experts and the persistence of North Carolinians in adhering to executive orders and public health guidance, it is necessary to continue with the “dimmer switch” approach in reopening the state.
For business guidance and resources visit the state’s COVID-19 Guidance webpage.
- Read all Executive Orders: https://www.nc.gov/covid-19/covid-19-executive-orders
- FAQs for Eased Restrictions -Executive Order 204
- FAQs for Eased Restrictions -Executive Order 195
- Implementing a Modified Stay at Home Order and Requiring Night-Time Closure for Certain Businesses and Activities During Overnight Hours - Executive Order 181
- Revises prohibitions and restrictions that move the state into Phase 3 measures - signed October 2 (Español) - Executive Order 169
- Revised prohibitions and restrictions that move the state into Safer at Home Phase 2.5 measures - signed Sept. 4 (Español) - Executive Order 163
- N.C. order extending Phase 2 (Español) - Executive Order 155
- Restricts late-night service of alcoholic beverages (Español) - Executive Order 153
- N.C. order extending Phase 2 (Epsañol) - Executive Order 151
- N.C. order extending Phase 2 (Español) - Executive Order 147
- N.C. order extending certain transportation-related provisions (Español) - Executive Order 146
- N.C. order extending certain health and human services provisions (Español) - Executive Order 144
- N.C. order addressing the disproportionate impace of COVID-19 on communities of color (Español) - Executive Order 143
- N.C. order placing temporary prohibitions on evictions and extending the prohibition on utility shutoffs (Español) - Executive Order 142
- N.C. order easing restrictions, Phase 2 - signed May 20 - Executive Order 141
- N.C. order easing restrictions, Phase 1 - signed May 5 - Executive Order 138
- N.C. order easing restrictions, Phase 1 FAQ
- N.C. order easing restrictions, Phase 1 charts and graphs
- N.C. order easing restrictions, Phase 1 comparison
- N.C. extension of stay at home order - signed April 23 (Español) - Executive Order 135
- N.C. order regarding business requirements - signed April 9 (Español) - Executive Order 131
- N.C. stay at home order - signed March 27 (Español) - Executive Order 121
Face Coverings in Public
A face covering is still required in all public indoor settings if there are non- household members present, regardless of the individual’s ability to maintain social distance. Face coverings continue to be required in public outdoor settings if individuals are unable to maintain 6 feet of social distance from non-household members.
NCDHHS has additional recommendations to improve mask wearing based on guidance from the CDC. To ensure masks are as protective as possible, NCDHHS recommends that you:
- Make sure your mask fits snugly against your face and covers your nose and mouth. To help with a snug fit, you can use a mask with a metal strip along the top of the mask.
- Use two or more layers for your face covering. You can do this by wearing a cloth face covering with two or more layers or by wearing one disposable mask (sometimes referred to as a surgical mask or a medical procedure mask) underneath a cloth mask.
- Do not wear two disposable masks.
- Make sure you can see and breathe easily.
For additional information on how to improve mask wearing, please see updated guidelines from the CDC.
Mass Gatherings
Executive Order No. 204 has three general categories of occupancy restrictions: up to 100 percent capacity, 75 percent capacity, and 50 percent capacity. All businesses must continue to maintain the 6 feet of distance requirement between patrons and implement other safety protocols as they expand their capacity.
Declarations
- Amendment to the Declaration of State of Emergency in Orange County, March 18, 2021
- Amendment to the Declaration of State of Emergency in Orange County, December 16, 2020
- Amendment to the Declaration of State of Emergency in Orange County, November 12, 2020
- Amendment to the Declaration of State of Emergency in Orange County, October 2, 2020
- Amendment to the Declaration of State of Emergency in Orange County, September 3, 2020
- Amendment to the Declaration of State of Emergency in Orange County, August 19, 2020
- Amendment to the Declaration of State of Emergency in Orange County, July 9, 2020
- Amendment to the Declaration of State of Emergency in Orange County, June 26,2020
- Amendment to the Declaration of State of Emergency in Orange County, May 21, 2020
- Extension of the March 13, 2020 Declaration of State of Emergency in Orange County, May 6, 2020
- Extension of the March 13, 2020 Declaration of State of Emergency in Orange County, April 23, 2020
- Orange County State of Emergency to Order the Public to Stay at Home, March 25, 2020
- Orange County State of Emergency Declaration, March 13, 2020