NC residents will be protected from pandemic-related evictions, governor says
North Carolina residents who can’t afford their rent won’t be evicted if tenants provide a sworn statement to their landlords about their circumstances, Gov. Roy Cooper said Wednesday, keeping the state’s housing protections in line with federal guidelines.
Cooper issued a new executive order Wednesday that will enforce the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s nationwide eviction moratorium. It will stay in effect through the end of the year.
In early September, the CDC issued an order that bans evictions nationwide if tenants provide a sworn statement that they are unable to pay rent due to the pandemic and have exhausted all options to pay their rent.
“The result during this global pandemic will be more North Carolinians staying in their homes,” Cooper told reporters during a news conference on Wednesday. “More landlords getting paid rent, and fewer utility companies shutting off the power.“
Cooper said that a quarter of a million evictions could be filed statewide by January without the order.
Cooper addressed other pandemic-related topics during his weekly COVID-19 update, including avoiding large gatherings during the holidays and how to celebrate Halloween. Clusters of coronavirus cases have emerged in social and religious gatherings in recent weeks, he said.
While North Carolina did not experience a spike in coronavirus cases like other states, it is seeing a new surge in as some restrictions have lifted and people head indoors with cooler weather.
Rural COVID-19 spread
October has seen a rise in people hospitalized with COVID-19. Wednesday was the highest number of hospitalizations since late July and the second highest overall with 1,214 people in the hospital statewide. There were 939 hospitalizations on Oct. 1, according to data from DHHS.
Cooper said he is especially concerned with capacity at smaller hospitals in rural areas. They’re “a little bit thinner” and can’t take in a large amount of patients.
“We’re seeing (COVID-19 Cases) concentrated more in rural areas, and we’re seeing it concentrated more in the white population,” Cooper said.
Cooper said political rallies in these rural areas particularly alarm him. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have visited the state several times this fall and held large outdoor campaign rallies that attract thousands of people with no social distancing and sparse use of face masks.
“I’m really concerned about campaigns that fly in all over the place and come into North Carolina, hold these large events, gathering a lot of people together, also bringing in people from out of state, and then leaving,” Cooper said. “North Carolina residents are going to have to deal with this aftermath.”
Cooper said he is reviewing the most recent recommendations from the White House Coronavirus Task Force, which has put North Carolina in a “red zone,” for new cases per 100,000 people, according to the Center for Public Integrity.
“I just wish that the leaders of the task force, and the elected officials would abide by it. It would help a lot,” Cooper said.
Cooper also said it can be difficult to determine the source of outbreaks in certain areas because of the community spread present in those communities.
“That’s the very definition of community spread,” Cooper said. “Contact tracers can ask a lot of questions, and people can give them a lot of answers, and they just simply may not be able to determine exactly where the person got it.”
Cohen said contact tracers aren’t always able to reach people by phone, and if the person does answer the phone, some can be hesitant to share all of their information about where they have been.
Case clusters
Clusters of cases have emerged in certain types of gatherings. Religious events such as worship services, bible studies and youth group meetings, for example, are the third highest source of known COVID-19 cluster infections in North Carolina, The News & Observer reported. At least 18 people have died with COVID-19 in association with those clusters, the state said.
“We are seeing further spread of the virus in religious settings,” Cohen said at the press conference. “The number in religious settings has been going up.”
A cluster is considered five or more cases within a 14-day period among people who are linked to a place or event.
Social gatherings, such as funerals, weddings, parties and family reunions, have resulted in 24 clusters with 236 cases of COVID-19, The N&O reported.
“This virus is not just something that’s happening in our urban areas of the state. It is happening in our rural communities,” Cohen said. “If you’re gathering together, particularly in larger groups for a longer period of time without a mask, this virus spreads.”
Cooper said that for spread to go down, large social gatherings need to stop.
“There’s no way that that helps things,” Cooper said. “What we need right now is the opposite.”
Avoiding holiday spread
With Halloween on Saturday and Thanksgiving next month, Cooper and Cohen made recommendations for how North Carolinians should safely celebrate with their families.
For Halloween, Cohen said that her children are going on a Halloween scavenger hunt in a park and they’ll put out a table with candy for trick-or-treaters to pick up, as opposed to handing out candy directly or children digging into a bowl.
Cooper said his family has celebrated Thanksgiving in the past with broader family members, but this year it will be him, his wife, Kristin Cooper, their daughter and pets. He urged North Carolinians to consider their more vulnerable family members when planning gatherings.
“We’re not going to be forever in this valley,” he said.
Cohen said that DHHS would soon be giving specific guidance for Thanksgiving.
“People want and need to be together,” Cohen said. “We would love for you to do that virtually, but if you’re going to come together, keep it small, keep it outside. Make sure you’re being physically social distance if you are together.”
Eviction order
Cooper said he enacted his executive order because there has been confusion about the CDC’s order. The state’s order makes it clear how the CDC rules will be enforced in North Carolina.
Tenants who have applied for rental assistance under the state Department of Public Safety’s HOPE program will be eligible for eviction protection under Cooper’s order.
Cooper’s executive order about evictions also requires that landlords, if they take an action to evict, provide tenants with a sworn statement they can fill out and provide to the court. Households are limited to one sworn statement per household.
Landlords also cannot legally file a writ of possession for the rental property if they are provided with the tenant’s sworn statement.
The order will be enforced by state and local law enforcement officers, according to the text of the executive order.
Evictions for reasons other than nonpayment of rent are still allowed under this order.
COVID-19 trends in NC
DHHS reported over 2,200 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, following a trend throughout October as new cases and hospitalizations have steadily risen. Wednesday was the second straight day that new cases topped 2,000. Last week there were two days that topped 2,500 new cases.
On Oct. 21, Cooper extended Phase 3 of the state’s reopening plan until Nov. 13, keeping a “dimmer switch” approach to easing restrictions.
Cooper said last week that he hoped more local enforcement of health safety measures and the re-emphasis on local authority will drive down viral spread.
Phase 3, which began Oct. 2, reopened bars, entertainment venues, movie theaters and large outdoor venues, but with capacity restrictions. Gatherings are limited to 25 people indoors and 50 people outdoors.
Wednesday’s news conference is likely the last one by the governor before Election Day, which is Tuesday.
Cooper, a Democrat, is running for re-election, with his handling of the coronavirus response a key factor in voters’ minds. His opponent, Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, has been campaigning on lifting restrictions faster and has held many in-person campaign events without wearing a mask or social distancing.
Cooper has stayed mostly out of the public eye, except for his weekly COVID-19 briefings, which are televised.
This story was originally published October 28, 2020 at 3:28 PM.
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