Cooper to announce decision on Phase 3 today. Here’s how to watch the briefing.
Gov. Roy Cooper is expected to announce his decision today about whether or not North Carolina can move into the next phase of reopening,
The state has been stalled in Phase 2 of the governor’s reopening plan as the numbers for coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths continued to trend in the wrong the direction past the original Phase 2 expiration date.
North Carolina reached the grim milestone of more than 2,000 reported deaths this week, reaching a total of 2050 deaths as of Wednesday. The state reported 1,167 new cases on Wednesday, a smaller daily one-day case increase than any day in the past month.
In our current phase, set to expire on Friday, restaurants, retail stores and salons are allowed to open with decreased capacity and with physical distancing and cleaning requirements in place.
Schools are allowed to reopen with mask and distancing rules in place, but many school districts are opting to start the fall with remote learning.
Bars and gyms have not been allowed to reopen.
Meanwhile. Lt. Gov. Dan Forest has sued Cooper, saying the governor should have gotten permission from the Council of State before issuing COVID-19 executive orders. Forest, a Republican, is running for governor against Cooper, a Democrat, in the November election.
At Wednesday’s 4 p.m. news conference, Cooper will reveal whether capacity limits might be loosened in restaurants and whether bars or gyms can reopen.
How to watch Cooper’s news conference
Today’s news conference can be streamed live at ncdps.gov/storm-update and will be delivered in English, Spanish and American Sign Language.
Major affiliated television stations in markets across the state — such as ABC11, WRAL and CBS 17 in the Triangle — normally televise or stream the governor’s news conferences, as well.
Today’s briefing will start at 4 p.m.
Cooper will appear at the briefing with other state officials, including N.C. Department of Health and Human Services secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen and other members of the Coronavirus Task Force.
This story was originally published August 5, 2020 at 11:07 AM.
