NC Gov. Cooper issues executive order: No mass gatherings, no school due to coronavirus threat
With more than two dozen cases of COVID-19 — the disease caused by the novel coronavirus — in North Carolina, , Gov. Roy Cooper Saturday announced an executive order to stop mass gatherings of more than 100 people. He also directed that K-12 public schools across the state close for at least two weeks, beginning March 16.
The announcement at Saturday’s press conference comes just hours after Wake and Johnston counties decided to close schools through March 27.
“These decisions will also be tough on working parents and children who get their meals at school,” Cooper said. “We are working on efforts to deal with these challenges.”
Cooper said he has appointed an education and nutrition working group, with officials from the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Public Instruction, the State Board of Education and schools “to come up with smart solutions for safe child care, meal service and other equity issues.”
In particular, Cooper said, the state is focusing efforts on children of front-line healthcare workers. The work group intends to come up with innovative ways to support these families.
“School closings was an incredibly hard and complex decision,” Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen said. “School closures have major consequences for families and communities that go beyond this virus.
“The governor has tasked my department, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Public Instruction to work together with stakeholders to make sure that our children have enough food to eat, families have options for safe places for their young children, and student learning continues.”
‘Mass gatherings’ don’t include restaurants, retail
The “mass gathering” portion of Cooper’s order does not include restaurants, shopping malls or other retail establishments, the governor said Saturday.
But the state does want restaurant owners and retail establishments to be mindful of social distancing — which means staying approximately six feet away from other people when possible — and take steps to protect customers, he said.
Cooper’s order is a reversal of the recommendations announced Thursday, when the governor strongly advised canceling, postponing or modifying gatherings of more than 100. Cooper said then that they chose not to recommend preemptive school closure at that time. But that changed in just two days.
“We are seeing increased anxiety, fear from parents, from teachers, from superintendents across our state,” Cooper said. “We need a period of time here to assess the threat of COVID-19 and to make sure that we have a coordinated statewide response to deal with the fallout that comes when you don’t have children in school.”
The North Carolina Association of Educators released a statement shortly after the governor’s announcement, commending his decision.
“We appreciate Governor Cooper’s careful consideration of all the impacts a statewide closure of our public school system would have on educators, students, parents, and the wider community,” said the association’s president Mark Jewell. “Ultimately, we think this is the correct decision, and we thank him for acting decisively in the best interest of everyone involved.”
One of the confirmed cases announced by state officials on Saturday is a Fuquay-Varina Elementary School teacher. Cooper said that case did not play a role in his decision to issue an executive order.
North Carolina coronavirus cases
As of noon on Saturday, there were 1,694 cases of coronavirus reported in the U.S. and 41 deaths from the disease, according to the NC Department of Health and Human Services.
President Donald Trump on Friday declared a national emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic, opening the door for the federal government to offer some funding help for state and local governments working to stem the spread of illness. Trump said the declaration would free up as much as $50 billion, according to the Associated Press.
Earlier this week, Cooper declared a state of emergency in North Carolina, making the state eligible for federal emergency funding.
The number of people testing positive for COVID-19 continued to rise Saturday in North Carolina as new measures were ordered by Cooper to try to stem the spread of the disease caused by the coronavirus.
The state Department of Health and Human Services reported on its website there are 23 cases in North Carolina, an increase of eight since Friday. The DHHS total doesn’t include new cases reported by county officials on Saturday, which bring the total to 26.
Wake County has the highest number of reported cases, with 11. Others are in Forsyth, Durham, Chatham, Johnston, Cabarrus, Harnett, Onslow, Wayne, Brunswick, Craven and Mecklenburg counties.
At least one of Wake County’s new cases, according to county officials, is related to a Boston conference that employees of Biogen in the Triangle attended.
“Our lives have been turned upside down by this pandemic, but we’re going to get through this,” Cooper said Saturday. “Hindsight is 2020. I don’t want any regrets in our rear-view mirror when this pandemic subsides.”
U.S. Senator Thom Tillis, along with North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland), applauded Cooper’s efforts shortly after the announcement of the order.
“We are all in this together and although these measures will undoubtedly present some serious challenges to our faith communities and working parents, it’s vital that we protect the health and well-being of North Carolinians,” Tillis wrote in a statement. “The next several weeks are crucial to containing the spread of coronavirus and combatting this pandemic, and I applaud Governor Cooper for taking these important steps. By taking precautions and following the guidelines of our local and state officials, we will better protect the health of our loved ones and get through this as soon as possible.”
Moore reassured schools and students that the legislature would “work closely with education officials to provide the flexibility and funding they need to respond to these rapid developments and keep North Carolina communities safe.”
UNC, Wake Tech make changes; SPCA stops adoptions
Also on Saturday, UNC chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz released a statement that students at the school are discouraged from returning to campus after spring break.
“Today, we are writing to strongly urge these students — residential, off-campus and graduate students with no research or teaching responsibilities — to NOT RETURN TO CAMPUS the week of March 16 and spend the week at their homes,” the statement read.
Students will be notified by March 18 about plans for the following week, according to the statement.
Wake Tech Community College announced on Saturday that it is closing its campuses. Students will switch to online classes by March 23.
“All on-campus classes and activities had already been suspended until April 5, however this is an additional measure to limit access to campuses for employees and visitors. Employees should not report to work until further notice. We remain on schedule to transition to all online classes as of Monday, March 23,” the statement read.
The SPCA of Wake County announced Saturday in a press release that it is closed for adoptions until at least March 22, when it “will reassess the situation and determine next steps.”
Sports, shows, festivals canceled
The NHL and NBA have suspended their seasons, and the NCAA and ACC canceled their basketball tournaments. The Masters and other golf tournaments and the Boston Marathon were postponed, and NASCAR has put off upcoming races in Atlanta and Miami.
The Dreamville music festival in Raleigh was postponed from April to August. “Les Miserables” canceled at the Durham Performing Arts Center. And the City of Raleigh announced that all large events planned for its facilities would be canceled or postponed through April 15, effectively shuttering the Raleigh Convention Center and Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts.
In announcing the executive order, Cooper said that despite the guidance that people cancel, modify or postpone gatherings of more than 100 people, several venues continued their events.
“So today’s order makes it mandatory,” Cooper said. “This is a risk we cannot tolerate. No concert is worth the spread of this pandemic.”
This story was originally published March 14, 2020 at 4:39 PM.
