Cooper’s latest order allows more furloughed workers to get unemployment benefits
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed a new executive order Tuesday allowing a group of furloughed workers to claim unemployment benefits. He also said a decision would be coming this week about the stay-at-home order set to expire April 29 and schools, which are now closed through May 15.
The order, announced by Cooper during a Tuesday news conference, gives furloughed workers who received a severance payment from their employers access to payments through the unemployment system. Previously, such workers were ineligible to claim unemployment benefits.
The state has already paid $580 million in unemployment claims to more than 257,000 people since the coronavirus pandemic started last month, Cooper said.
“We know that this virus is taking a toll on our economy and on our workforce,” Cooper said, “and we can’t lose sight of how this virus is affecting our families in North Carolina.”
Cooper also said he and his staff have been working with General Assembly leaders on how to allocate the initial federal funds that have arrived in the state’s coffers to help deal with the pandemic. Small business will be a target area, Cooper said, especially since the funds available through the federal Paycheck Protection Plan have been depleted.
“Small business is the life blood of our economy,” Cooper said. “Many of the men and women who have built these businesses are struggling right now. We owe it to them to help keep them afloat until it’s safe to start easing the restrictions.”
Cooper hopes the General Assembly will agree to fund three areas: Testing and tracing of coronavirus cases, schools and other core state governmental services and small businesses and local government assistance.
“We’ve been working with the General Assembly and their staffs and we are hopeful this funding proposal can be a consensus effort,” Cooper said.
The General Assembly is due back in session on April 28. The Legislative Building downtown will have limited public access. Only lawmakers, staff and credentialed press will be allowed inside, and everyone’s temperature will be taken as they enter.
There are more than 6,900 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, in North Carolina. The state Department of Health and Human Services reported Tuesday morning that there have been 213 deaths and 427 people are currently hospitalized. More than 83,000 tests have been completed, according to the state.
Decision this week on stay-at-home order, schools
Cooper previously issued a statewide stay-at-home order from March 30 through April 29. The order started the same day as similar statewide orders in Virginia and Maryland. The governor also previously ordered schools closed through at least May 15 and other restrictions.
Cooper also said Tuesday that he expects to make an announcement later this week on his executive orders regarding stay-at-home rules and the reopening of schools.
“I know that many people are frustrated, restless, anxious and eager to get back to work and school,” Cooper said.
He said he wants to “ease back” restrictions so the virus does not spike and overwhelm our hospitals. The governor also said the decision about the reopening of schools will include guidance from public health officials about what is needed to make students safe in school.
In South Carolina, the governor has begun to lift some restrictions on businesses.
Cooper received criticism from protesters involved with a “ReOpen NC” group that gathered in downtown Raleigh Tuesday for the second week in a row. Cooper and DHHS Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen have said they would base lifting restrictions on COVID-19 testing expansion, contact tracing and trends in data including deaths and hospitalizations.
Cooper said the state will ease restrictions in a responsible, staged way, because if not, the virus could spike, again.
“You only have to look on TV at what’s happening in New York and Italy to see what could happen here,” Cooper said.
Testing, tracing and PPE
Cooper said previously that easing restrictions would be more like a dimmer switch than an on/off switch. In a call between Vice President Mike Pence and the nation’s governors on Monday, Cooper said he asked for more testing supplies and personal protective equipment.
Cooper hasn’t given specific numbers of what testing capacity they need to see. He said plans will be laid out this week. Cohen said more information about tracing will be ready by early next week.
Cohen also said Tuesday she is waiting for information from the Centers for Disease Control about how to define someone as being “recovered” from COVID-19.
Emergency Management Director Mike Sprayberry said gowns are the most needed personal protective equipment, known as PPE.
This story was originally published April 21, 2020 at 2:31 PM.
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