New Cooper order limits access to retail stores amid coronavirus crisis in NC
Gov. Roy Cooper on Thursday took some limited new steps to prevent the spread of the coronavirus by ordering retail stores to restrict the number of shoppers allowed inside at one time.
However, while he encouraged other safety measures — those that some other states already have in place — he did not mandate them.
Occupancy is now limited to 20% of stores’ fire capacity, or five people per 1,000 square feet of retail space. The rule takes effect at 5 p.m. Monday.
As part of the executive order, Cooper also said stores must mark six feet of distance where people might gather, such as in checkout lines or outside stores waiting to enter, and to perform “frequent environmental cleaning and routine disinfecting.”
Cooper said if order is not obeyed, law enforcement will have authority to issue Class 2 misdemeanor citations.
Cooper also encouraged but did not mandate that stores make hand sanitizer accessible, have designated shopping times for seniors and other at-risk people, use shields at the checkouts, and create one-way aisles to limit traffic.
North Carolina’s new guidelines contrast with tougher restrictions implemented earlier Thursday by the District of Columbia, which require all shoppers to wear masks and to maintain social distance. Virginia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia encourage shoppers to maintain six feet of space between themselves and other shoppers but leave distancing requirements in retail stores up to the individual establishments.
Cooper’s Thursday order comes two days after he announced plans for new rules to prevent people from interacting while shopping at stores that are deemed essential and thus still open, despite the active stay-at-home order aimed at slowing the coronavirus spread.
“This should make shopping safer for customers and retail employees and keep stores from becoming flashpoints for virus transmission,” Cooper said.
Harris Teeter, the Matthews-based grocer owned by Kroger Co., on Wednesday implemented strict limits on the number of people allowed in its stores at one time. In North Carolina, Harris Teeter’s limit is 50% of building code capacity but that will be limited further by Cooper’s executive order.
Harris Teeter joined grocers such as Trader Joe’s and Bi-Lo, and retailers like Walmart, Target and Lowe’s Home Improvement in enforcing occupancy limits.
Safety measures in Wake County’s 25 liquor stores go beyond Cooper’s orders. Ike Wheeler, general manager of the county’s ABC stores, said the stores cut their hours in mid-March to 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., two hours before they typically close. They limited the number of customers that could be in their stores at one time, from 25 people in their largest 10,000-square-foot stores down to five in their smallest stores.
They placed sneeze-guard screens in front of all of their cash registers and have ordered face masks for all employees, who also wear gloves at all times. Wheeler said they also put social distancing tape on the floor.
“We’ve done everything that we...can humanely know how to do,” Wheeler said. “It protects the customer and it protects the employee, too.”
Executive orders for nursing homes, unemployment claims
Also Thursday, Cooper put in place a mandatory protective order for nursing homes. It bans group activities and gathering in common spaces such as dining rooms. It requires nursing homes to screen for signs of sickness in employees and residents and requires employees to wear face masks.
In a third order, additional measures will be put in place to get more unemployment claims processed faster. Since March 16, the state has received 497,000 unemployment claims and processed $40.3 million to North Carolina residents.
As of Thursday, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported 3,651 coronavirus cases and 65 deaths.
This story was originally published April 9, 2020 at 4:14 PM.