BREAKING: N.C. relaxes limits on businesses
As Covid numbers decline, Gov. Roy Cooper allows higher capacities at wide range of locations
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Big changes take effect Friday at 5 p.m. for restaurants, gyms, bars, stores, salons and more; alcohol curfew ends
by Cristina Bolling and Tony Mecia
North Carolina is further relaxing its Covid restrictions, allowing more customers into restaurants, bars, stores, gyms, salons and other businesses under a new executive order that starts Friday at 5 p.m.
In a news conference this afternoon, Gov. Roy Cooper announced a new executive order that he said was warranted given that Covid metrics have continued to improve.
The new executive order includes the following:
Restaurants, gyms, breweries, amusement parks and pools can operate at 75% capacity indoors and 100% capacity outdoors.
Bars, sports arenas and event venues can operate at 50% capacity. Just after Cooper’s announcement, the Charlotte Hornets announced that they’ll increase the number of fans in the stadium from 15% to 25% for the next home game on Friday against Miami.
Gyms, museums, retail stores, aquariums and salons can open at 100% capacity.
Bars and restaurants will no longer be required to stop serving alcohol after 11 p.m.
The state’s mask mandate continues to be in place, and Cooper warned against activities that could cause “a backslide.”
“Spring has brought sunnier days and the continued hope and belief that we will move past this pandemic. Our students are in the classroom, people are getting vaccinated, and our Covid-19 numbers are promising,” he said. “But for us to truly turn the corner and leave this pandemic behind we have to stay strong to the very end.”
How N.C. compares: The easing of some of North Carolina’s rules puts the state more in line with other states in the South, most of which have moved at a faster pace to reopen. Some in the region have gone even further, allowing restaurants to operate indoors at full capacity, and some have dropped their mask mandates.
Other states, such as California, are taking a much harder line, with indoor dining closed in some counties and no indoor gatherings allowed. And some states in the Northeast, including New York and Vermont, still have mandatory Covid testing or quarantine requirements for out-of-state visitors.
Effect on businesses: Most of the lifted restrictions will have little immediate effect, because people’s comfort level at returning to public places determines businesses’ fates more than government regulations. When was the last time you were turned away from a retailer because it had already hit its 50% capacity limit, for instance?
But over the longer term, it will probably boost public confidence that public places are safe if the government has said it is comfortable with higher capacity limits. Some popular restaurants, which have been increasingly crowded in the last few weeks, could see a quick benefit from allowing more diners. And at other businesses — for example, late-night bars that can keep the alcohol flowing after 11 p.m. effective Friday — it’s game on. (We’re looking at you, South End.)
Covid numbers falling: The relaxing of restrictions comes as nearly all measurements of Covid have plunged since mid-January:
In addition, about 1 of every 7 North Carolinians has been fully vaccinated, according to state figures. About 1 in 5 has received at least one vaccination.
School vote tonight: Additionally, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is expected to vote tonight on a proposal to send middle and high school students back to classrooms 4 days a week. Full coverage of that in tomorrow morning’s Charlotte Ledger.
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire; Reporting intern: David Griffith