Sports, bars and curfew: NC governor eases COVID restrictions but emphasizes safety
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper on Wednesday eased several statewide coronavirus restrictions as the state’s new cases have dropped significantly since the start of 2021.
Cooper announced that the modified stay-at-home order that includes a curfew has been lifted; bars will be allowed to reopen indoors with 30% capacity; indoor gathering sizes can be increased; and more sports fans will be allowed at games.
“We’re sticking with the science and the data,” Cooper said, “and that is what has told us to ease these restrictions the way we have.”
The lifting of restrictions comes as the state has been under coronavirus restrictions for nearly a year. The new executive order, Executive Order 195, will start Friday at 5 p.m. and last until March 26.
“When it comes to easing some restrictions, we’re depending on people to be responsible,” Cooper said.
Here’s what’s new:
- The curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. will be lifted.
- Bars will be allowed to reopen at 30% capacity, including indoors. Capacity will be capped at 250 people. Alcohol cannot be served after 11 p.m.
- Social gathering size will be 25 people indoors (up from 10 indoors) and 50 people outdoors.
- The cap on alcohol sales will be extended from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Businesses that were operating at 30% capacity no longer have a 100-person cap. That includes outdoor sports fields and venues, outdoor bars, indoor areas of amusement parks and other outdoor businesses. However, there is still a 250-person cap on indoor spaces.
- More spectators will be allowed at high school, college and professional sports events. The number allowed will depend on the venue size.
- Indoor arenas with a capacity of 5,000 or more people will be able to open with up to 15% capacity, as long as they follow safety protocols.
- Workers, athletes, entertainers and staff don’t count toward the above capacity limits.
What restrictions remain in place:
- A statewide mask mandate.
- There are still 50% capacity restrictions on businesses and retail establishments, including restaurants, breweries and wineries, retail, gyms, museums, aquariums, barbers and personal care venues, pools and outdoor areas of amusement parks. This also affects recreation spaces like bowling, skating rinks and rock climbing facilities.
“Today’s action is a show of confidence and trust, but we must remain cautious,” Cooper said. “People are losing their loved ones each day. Many of us are weary, but we cannot let the weariness win.”
While cases have stabilized some and more people are receiving the vaccine, the coronavirus remains deadly. A new more contagious variant has been detected in North Carolina. Tuesday, North Carolina reported 11,074 deaths since the pandemic began. The state just passed more than 10,000 reported deaths on Feb. 9.
Dr. Mandy Cohen, Secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, said Tuesday that officials are trying to balance health and safety with the easing of restrictions. They are looking at specific settings and the kinds of activities that take place there.
“We will move forward and ease restrictions, but you’re going to continue to hear us talk about the three Ws and the importance of it,” Cohen said Tuesday.
The state has been under Phase 3 of a reopening plan that started last summer of 2020. The current phase of the restrictions has been extended and adjusted several times to reflect the spread of the virus across the state.
Cooper has repeatedly used the phrase “dimmer switch” to describe his philosophy of easing COVID-19 restrictions. Despite Wednesday’s announcement, Cooper and Cohen both sounded a word of caution.
“We are going to continue to watch the data. If we can move some more in the future, we hope that that will happen as more people get vaccinated and we continue following the rules. But we’re going to put health and safety of people first,” Cooper said, noting that the curfew was the only restriction being lifted entirely.
In a statement, House Speaker Tim Moore, a Kings Mountain Republican, gave some credit to pressure from the state legislature, which has considered bills to increase the number of sports spectators as well as the schools reopening bill.
He said they were “encouraged that the intent and action of the General Assembly has led the Governor in this direction since we returned to session, as lawmakers answered to our constituents all across this state who believe that we need to be safely reopening schools and businesses.”
Moore said many restrictions go too far and that businesses are hurting.
“North Carolina has lagged behind most of our neighboring states when it comes to reopening. I am glad the Governor has taken this step and the General Assembly will continue to advocate for safely reopening schools and the economy,” Moore said.
Reopening bars
The North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association sent the governor a letter on Feb. 15 urging him to lift restrictions in his new order. President/CEO Lynn Minges wrote she is encouraged by increasing vaccinations and decreasing case counts, hospitalizations and coronavirus-related deaths in North Carolina.
“Nearly a year of capacity limits, curfews and restrictions on alcohol service continue to take a devastating toll on our businesses,” Minges wrote.
On Tuesday, Zack Medford, president of the N.C. Bar and Tavern Association, also urged Cooper to lift the curfew, allow bars to operate at 30% capacity inside, and let them serve until 11 p.m.
“We can do it safely. We can do it wearing masks and we can do it socially distanced,” Medford said.
North Carolina is moving forward with bar reopening, Cooper said, not because of political pressure but because data indicates the virus isn’t spreading as quickly.
“If we were still where we were in December, you wouldn’t see this from us regardless of any pressure that would be put on by any people or any legislators or anyone else,” Cooper said.
Restrictions could be reconsidered, Cohen added, if there is a spike in cases linked with bars or other establishments where rules are being loosened. Patrons in bars must be seated, with different groups spaced at least six feet apart, according to the executive order.
While bars are getting the green light to open their doors, bar owners say there are other barriers that may affect how they operate, specifically when restaurant workers will be eligible for vaccinations.
“We want to be open and all, but it’s about doing it the right way, the safe way,” said Mike Bourquin, who owns 106 Main, a bar in Durham.
“I think that means getting myself and my staff vaccinated,” he said. “Doing it the right way is the biggest key for us. The goal is to get back open, but to do it safely for our customers and safely for us.”
Restaurant workers are considered essential frontline workers and are included in Group 3 of North Carolina’s vaccine distribution. They’re in the second wave of Group 3, however, and will be eligible to receive vaccinations starting March 10.
Beyond vaccines, bars face the challenge of restarting a business that has been shuttered for months. Durham bar Arcana doesn’t have outdoor seating and declined to add the one or two sidewalk tables it was allowed to open last October. Reopening now would mean reinstating Arcana’s liquor license, rehiring staff, ordering spirits and making mixers, owner Erin Karcher said.
“While it’s exciting news, I can’t say either way whether we’ll open or not,” Karcher said.
Cooper called Wednesday for more direct state and federal aid for bars, restaurants and other businesses in the hospitality industry.
“That’s an important part of North Carolina’s economy,” Cooper said. “We’re a great place to visit, and we want that to thrive, but we still are in the middle of a pandemic.”
School decisions
Cooper has also had a bill on his desk for a week, Senate Bill 37, that would require North Carolina’s 115 public school districts to offer some sort of in-person learning. Cooper has said he doesn’t support the bill, and instead has urged school districts to reopen while complying with the existing guidance and safety protocols in place.
The governor said by mid-March, 95 of the state’s 115 local school districts would have some in-person instruction.
The majority of schools already are open under Plan A for elementary schools and Plan B for middle and high schools. Plan B requires six feet of social distancing, while Plan A does not. All schools have a mask mandate. The bill does not include charter schools or private schools. Some school districts, such as Durham Public Schools, have been using Plan C, or all virtual classes, since August, but are one of the districts planning to reopen soon.
Cooper told reporters last week that he could sign different legislation “or let this run its course.” The legislature has not passed a different schools reopening bill this week, however. Cooper has 10 days to sign, veto or let SB 37 become law without his signature. The deadline is Feb. 27. The Republican-led bill passed with enough support from Democrats to override a veto.
Cooper said again on Wednesday that he does not plan to sign SB 37, saying it doesn’t adequately follow DHHS guidance and that he wants to preserve local and state emergency authority.
Vaccine update
Wednesday, teachers, educators and childcare workers became eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine after the governor gave them priority in Group 3 of the vaccine distribution. Health care workers and people age 65 and older are currently being vaccinated as well.
There have been 2.13 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered in North Carolina as of Wednesday, with 1.36 million people receiving at least one dose. Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines require two doses.
Many providers had to delay appointments last week after a winter storm prevented all of the expected vaccine from Moderna and some of the expected Pfizer vaccine from reaching North Carolina. Those doses started arriving Tuesday, according to Cohen, with deliveries continuing into Wednesday.
That means many vaccine providers across the state will be giving two weeks of shots this week.
In recent weeks, Cooper said, North Carolina has seen its vaccine allocations tick upward, nearly doubling over the last five weeks and allowing providers to expand their efforts.
“We’re going to continue to hopefully increase vaccine,” Cooper said. “We have the potential of Johnson & Johnson vaccine that may be coming online soon, so the more vaccine we have, the more people will be able to get vaccinated.”
Drew Jackson contributed to this report.
This story was originally published February 24, 2021 at 2:14 PM with the headline "Sports, bars and curfew: NC governor eases COVID restrictions but emphasizes safety."
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