Durham to announce ‘stay-at-home’ order Wednesday amid coronavirus outbreak
Durham leaders will announce a “stay at home” order Wednesday to limit the spread of coronavirus, the city’s mayor said Tuesday in a news release.
So far, only a few communities in North Carolina have told their residents to shelter-in-place or stay at home. Those orders restrict movement by the public except for essential jobs and tasks related to health and food.
A news conference announcing the order is scheduled for 11 a.m. at the Durham City Hall Council Chambers at 101 City Hall Plaza. People can watch the conference on the city’s social media channels or on Spectrum channel 8.
Community spread has been identified in at least one Durham case, according to another Tuesday news release. That means someone tested positive for COVID-19 without visiting a place or person connected to the virus already.
“County health officials say that when such community spread is identified, that is when they will consider sheltering in place,” said Durham Mayor Steve Schewel in an interview with The News & Observer last week.
Do you have questions about “stay-at-home” orders? We’ll get answers.
Stay-at-home orders differ by community, and the specifics of Durham’s order were not included in the news release. Mecklenburg County, which includes Charlotte, announced its “stay at home” order Tuesday afternoon.
Mecklenburg’s orders are set to last at least three weeks, bans gatherings larger than 10 people and people are only allowed to leave their “home for essential activities,” according to the county’s proclamation. Several types of businesses that were deemed essential and allowed to remain open include grocery stores and pharmacies, nonprofits, gas stations, banks, media organizations, funeral homes and childcare centers.
Durham originally declared a state of emergency on March 13, but amended it a week later with expanded restrictions, including closing fitness centers and gyms. Wake County and the state issued similar restrictions days later.
Durham COVID-19 cases
Durham County reported more than 70 confirmed coronavirus cases as of Tuesday evening. There have been about 500 confirmed cases throughout North Carolina, though local and state officials acknowledge not everyone who has the disease can or will be tested.
At least 25 of Durham’s cases include Duke University students, The News & Observer has reported. Nearly all of those students had recently traveled abroad and were quarantined in their off-campus homes.
Students at the private school were told to leave their dorms and stay off campus while the school switched to online courses for the rest of the semester.
With confirmed cases increasing throughout the state and in the Triangle, local officials have faced consistent pressure to order “shelter in place” or “stay at home orders.”
That pressure is also increasing at the state-level with the N.C. Healthcare Association, asking for shelter-in-place orders on Monday.
Other North Carolina communities, including Pitt and Madison counties and the Town of Beaufort, issued shelter in place orders on Monday.
As of Tuesday night, NC Gov. Roy Cooper has not made that order though other statewide restrictions have been issued. Those include banning gatherings of more than 50 people, closing restaurants for dine-in and ordering entertainment and fitness facilities to close. Still, at least 12 states have issued shelter-in-place orders across the country.
This story was originally published March 24, 2020 at 7:33 PM.
