BREAKING: School's out until May 15, hair salons to close
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Cooper keeping schools closed for at least 2 more months; barbershops, hair salons to close effective Wednesday
Gov. Roy Cooper is ordering North Carolina schools to remain closed until at least May 15, and he’s closing hair and nail salons, barbershops and massage parlors starting Wednesday.
“I know these actions cause hardship and heartache for a lot of people,” Cooper said at a news conference in Raleigh. “But they’re necessary to save lives.”
In addition, he urged people in high-risk categories — people aged 65+ or with underlying health conditions — to stay home as much as possible.
Cooper’s order stopped short of what other states are doing, but it represents an escalation in the shutdown of businesses that has been devastating to the state’s economy. About 83,000 North Carolinians filed for unemployment insurance last week, up from the usual 3,500 a week.
He said he’s sympathetic toward parents forced into instant homeschooling but that the state is committed to improving virtual learning.
“I’m committed to making sure students can get as much education as they can this year,” he said.
At a Mecklenburg County news conference earlier in the day, county officials said they fear people are not taking warnings seriously enough and that early numbers are “not encouraging.” They said about one in eight of the 97 patients in the county with confirmed coronavirus cases have been hospitalized.
“People are continuing to act as if we do not have this increase in our community, and that concerns me greatly,” county health director Gibbie Harris said.
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Editor: Tony Mecia; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire