Gov. Roy Cooper urged North Carolina residents to heed his stay-at-home order during the coming first weekend it is in effect, warning that “these interventions we put in place can be tightened even more if necessary” because a surge of coronavirus cases is coming, according to predictive modeling.
“This virus is still spreading quickly,” Cooper said at a Friday news conference. “No one is immune. There is no vaccination. And social distancing is our best protection. Now is not the time for beach trips or neighborhood cookouts.”
Cooper said North Carolina has received just 33% of personal protective equipment it has requested from the Strategic National Stockpile, and he does not expect to receive any more – despite an anticipated surge of coronavirus cases that predictive modeling has shown in North Carolina.
“I don’t think any state would tell you that they have everything they need right now,” Cooper said. “In fact most states are on the open market, realizing that the federal government just simply doesn’t have it to give to them right now. They’re putting their equipment and supplies into places that are feeling the most acute need right now.
“But we know in North Carolina from our modeling, that kind of situation is coming toward us. And the thing that we can do to stop it is to stay at home and do our physical distancing and hopefully we don’t have the kind of surge that New York did. But it is possible some places in North Carolina could see that very thing.”
As of Friday morning, North Carolina was reporting 2,093 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, and 19 deaths of state residents attributed to symptoms associated with the disease. There are currently 259 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, and 19.7% of ICU beds in the state are empty.
"We are in a crucial time period for flattening the curve," Cooper said. "If we all do our part, we’ll get through this."
Click here for the latest coronavirus news on WFAE’s live blog.
Sign up here for The Frequency, WFAE’s daily email newsletter.
What questions do you have about the coronavirus? What has this experience been like for you? Share your questions below.
_
