North Carolina Will Pause Further Reopening Until September To Start The School Year

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North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said on Wednesday that the state will stay paused in Safer at Home Phase 2 for another five weeks.

Ethan Hyman/Raleigh News & Observer/TNS via Getty Images

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Ethan Hyman/Raleigh News & Observer/TNS via Getty Images

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Cooper said experts believe the mask mandate helped stabilize the state’s numbers, and urged North Carolinians to continue masking up, social distancing and washing their hands frequently.

«Our success at returning thousands of students, teachers, and staff safely to classrooms this month depends on us doing what works, Cooper said.

According to Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, the state’s trajectory of lab-confirmed cases and the percentage of tests returning positive over 14 days have stabilized but remain high, and the trajectory of hospitalizations is starting to level.

North Carolina passed the threshold of 2,000 coronavirus deaths this week. On Wednesday, it reported 1,127 new cases out of 19,444 completed tests, and officials said 1,167 people remained hospitalized.

In Phase 2 of the state’s Safer at Home plan, gatherings remain capped at 10 people indoors and 25 outdoors. Restaurants, retail and personal care services are open at 50% capacity. Venues like museums, nightclubs, playgrounds, fitness studios, theaters and bowling alleys must stay closed.

Cooper also pointed to the two deaths and other trauma caused in the state by Hurricane Isaias earlier this week.

«Whether it’s a storm or a pandemic, that kind of hope and our shared commitment to a stronger future will keep us going, Cooper said. «Hold on to that hope. Keep wearing your masks. And know that these difficult times won’t last forever, but our strength and resilience will.