Wake County extends stay-at-home order 2 weeks and now allows drive-in church services
Wake County residents will remain under a stay-at-home order at least two more weeks, but they’ll now have more options for shopping and be able to pray together in their cars.
The county’s stay-at-home order was extended Thursday through April 30. The county’s original March 26 order was set to end Thursday.
“Beginning 5 p.m. today, all retail businesses in the county — including those located in a city or town — may operate if they provide delivery or curbside pickup options for customers,” the county announced Thursday on its Facebook page. “Also, faith organizations may now hold drive-in services.”
Wake County is making progress on flattening the curve of new COVID-19 cases in the community, but it hasn’t peaked yet, said Greg Ford, chairman of the Wake County Board of Commissioners.
“However, we understand how challenging this is — particularly for businesses — which is why this extension includes provisions to help the local economy while enabling us to save lives.”
The doubling rate — the number of days it takes for confirmed coronavirus cases to double — has gone from three and a half days to about eight days, according to a Wake County news release.
“While this is encouraging, projections show that residents must continue practicing stay-at-home measures to further flatten the COVID-19 curve and avoid overwhelming our local healthcare system,” the news release says.
Wake County’s order technically only applies to the unincorporated parts of the county outside city and town limits. But all 12 mayors of Wake County’s cities and towns have signed on to the amended order.
Gov. Roy Cooper issued a statewide stay-at-home order a few days after Wake County. The biggest difference is that the county limits gatherings to a household (people who live together inside a home) while the state allows gatherings up to 10 people. People must follow their local order if it is stricter.
Durham and Orange counties’ stay-at-home orders end April 30, though they could be extended, revised or ended earlier.
Revised rules for churches and stores
Wake County’s modified order lets any business remain open if it can provide delivery or curbside pickup options. But employees must be six feet from each other and customers or employees must be provided a mask. Customers will not be allowed to enter the storefront of any non-essential business
The updated order also allows drive-in religious services.
“Religious and spiritual support is one way that people find strength and comfort,” Ford said in a news release. “While these services are accessible online, we have extended the ability to allow drive-in services if churches and places of worship are able to follow certain social-distancing parameters.”
But the drive-in faith services do come with restrictions including:
- No “personal collection” of tithes or offerings
- No distributing communion
- No handing out literature
- No sitting in truck beds or outside the vehicle.
- Only members of a single household are allowed in a vehicle
- Cars must leave six feet of space in between them (like a parking spot) and the six feet must be clearly marked.
Some have already criticized the restrictions, including N.C. Senate leader Phil Berger.
“Yet the same gov’t orders allow ppl to pay cash for take-out food after reviewing a menu at the local McDonalds,” he tweeted. “This is an outrageous and unconstitutional overstep of government authority.”
Wake County spokesperson Dara Demi clarified that tithing could still occur as long as it was not personally collected. For instance, people could drive by a collection plate and drop the money in.
Communion and donations to the church are key elements of his faith, Ford said, but he added that everything in the new order is based on public health officials recommendations to stop the spread of COVID-19.
“Based on data moving forward, I look forward to when we can open everything up more fully,” he said. “We can’t afford to get lax or complacent. What we’re doing has been working, and it’s making a positive difference. We need to keep it up.”
Apex lifted faith restrictions first
On the Thursday before Easter, Apex Mayor Jacques Gilbert amended that town’s order to allow for drive-in faith services. That gave Apex different rules from the rest of the county for about a week.
Church services are a mental-health outlet for many people, he said. Several faith-based organizations were notified, but only one — Calvary Chapel, his home church — offered drive-in church services, he said. He attended the Easter drive-in service.
Gilbert called the amended Wake County order, which Apex signed on to, a good start, but said he thinks “adjustments can be made in a safe and strategic way to get people where they are living again, and not just in a mere survival mode.”
“I do believe different communities are different, with a different make-up,” Gilbert said. “At the end of the day I was elected to be the mayor of Apex. And I have to look out for the best interest of our community.”
The local extension comes just a few days after more than 100 people protested in downtown Raleigh calling on the governor to reopen the state. At least one protester was arrested.
Wake County has more than 550 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, while the state has more than 5,400 confirmed cases. More than 130 people have died across the state, including one in Wake County, and outbreaks have been reported in nearly all 100 counties.
This story was originally published April 16, 2020 at 9:38 AM with the headline "Wake County extends stay-at-home order 2 weeks and now allows drive-in church services."
