Will Triangle counties follow NC governor’s lead in extending stay-at-home rules?
Now that Gov. Roy Cooper has extended his stay-at home order until May 8, Triangle area leaders are deciding whether to extend or modify their own, sometimes stricter, rules.
“I will not risk the health of our people or of our hospitals, and easing these restrictions now would do that,” Cooper said Thursday, adding he has a plan to re-open the state.
Local mayors and county commissioner chairs have enacted their own stay-at-home orders, some of which are set to expire soon. As of Thursday evening, most were still deciding next steps, while some were planning to extend their orders.
North Carolina had more than 7,600 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 250 deaths as of Thursday morning. More than 96,000 tests had been completed, but not everyone believed to have the virus has been tested, according to the N.C. Department of Heath and Human Services.
Here’s what some elected leaders were considering Thursday as the governor announced his extension and plan to gradually ease restrictions once public-health benchmarks are reached.
Raleigh, Holly Springs, Apex, Cary
Wake County’s stay-at-home order runs through April 30 and is one of the strictest in the Triangle area.
It eliminates all gatherings outside a person’s immediate household, while the state bans gatherings of more than 10 people
That number has become a sticking point for some.
Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin was pleased with Cooper’s timeline and stressed that with more than 300 new cases reported across North Carolina since Wednesday the state is “not out of the woods yet.”
She would like to see the local order extended until May 8 for consistency, but some other Wake County mayors may want to reduce the restrictions. It would “be problematic” if some parts of the county followed the state’s order or their own order instead of the county’s order, she said.
“I think for all our safety we should have consistency, but I am one voice out of 13 (mayors),’” Baldwin said.
Apex had already altered its local ordinance to allow drive-in church services before the rest of the county. Since the beginning, Apex Mayor Jacques Gilbert said he believed Wake County should align with the state order “to minimize confusion for all involved including law enforcement officers.” He’s made the decision to move to a less restrictive order than Wake County’s.
“As a mayor of Apex my responsibility and service is to the citizens and business leaders in our town who share their challenges and concerns with me,” he told The News & Observer in a text Thursday.
In an email Thursday, Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht said town staff members will review any extended ordinance and then he will decide whether to sign on. He said he does not favor tightening restrictions.
“Some mayors like the 0 since it sends a message,” he said of allowed gathering sizes. “The majority of the mayors prefer 10 because 0 is unenforceable.”
Watching Cooper’s press conference, Holly Springs Mayor Dick Sears was hopeful some small businesses would be able to reopen in early May. He has spoken to his peers in Apex and Cary about the three towns following the state order instead of signing on to the county order if the state was willing to reopen sooner.
“These three mayors, in particular, feel strongly that part of their job in life is to help their municipality,” Sears said. “And it almost feels like I’ve got handcuffs behind me. And that’s sad.”
Wake County
Commissioner Chair Greg Ford tweeted Thursday morning that “new research shows eight in 10 Americans support keeping or increasing stay-at-home orders to protect the public’s health.”
After Cooper’s press conference, Ford said, he would be speaking with the county manager, the emergency operations center staff and public health officials “to process today’s announcement together.”
All of the Wake County mayors were virtually meeting for a previously scheduled conference call at 5 p.m. Thursday “to share a local update,” and talk about next steps with Ford and county staff members
In an interview with The N&O on Wednesday, Wake County’s Emergency Operation Center Manager Darshan Patel outlined the criteria the county will consider before reopening. The county needs to ramp up its testing capabilities and reopen gradually.
“We recognize that stay-at-home orders are not easy,” he said. “They are hard on the economy. They are hard on families. They are hard on individuals, and we have to balance our public health needs with our economic needs and needs of our residences.”
As of Thursday morning, there had been 626 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 11 deaths in Wake County, according to DHHS. There had been two reported outbreaks at nursing homes.
Durham County
The city of Durham’s stay-at-home order went into effect March 26 and has since been combined with Durham County’s and amended to reduce the size of groups allowed to gather from 10 to five people.
A recent amendment requires people to cover their faces when venturing out for essential services, such as grocery shopping.
The order is set to expire April 30, unless elected leaders extend it.
Durham County Commissioner Wendy Jacobs said she strongly supports Cooper’s and DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen’s leadership and the way forward they have laid out.
”I think it is a very reasonable and responsible approach,” she said.
Durham County and city officials plan to extend and revise their stay-at-home order Friday afternoon, she said.
“We are also looking at following the pathway that the governor has laid out, with focusing on the testing, tracking and trends,” she said.
The work being done in the community is paying off as Durham County is flattening the curve and the health-care system isn’t overwhelmed, but the number of confirmed cases continues to increase every day.
Locally, however, the area isn’t at its testing capacity and still needs personal protective equipment, Jacobs said.
Jacobs said officials are still working on the details of their extended order. “We are also going to be introducing ways to again support more economic activity for our Realtors, for the business community and retail businesses,” she said.
As of Thursday morning, there had been 459 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and seven deaths in Durham County, according to DHHS. There had been three reported outbreaks at nursing homes.
Orange County
A stay-at-home order for Orange County, Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough went into effect at 5 p.m. March 27 and will expire at 5 p.m. April 30.
After meeting with the mayors of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough, commissioner Chair Penny Rich announced, the countywide stay-at-home order also will be extended until May 8.
“We are monitoring the stats for Orange County and the state daily, and when the data indicates it is safe for us to ease these restrictions, we will do so,” Rich said in a statement.
The order prohibits unnecessary travel and gatherings of 10 or more people. It allows residents to travel for groceries and takeout food, pet supplies and essential household goods; to work for “essential” businesses and professional services; to seek medical care and medications; to care for family and friends; and to go outside for recreation.
Since the order was implemented, Rich and the towns’ mayors have met regularly to talk about the local coronavirus response, including issues of food and housing for residents who were left unemployed.
A statement made by DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen on Wednesday played a role in the county’s decision, Rich said. Re-opening the state to normal activities must be based on widespread testing, contact tracing and data-informed policy decisions that keep residents and health care workers safe, Cohen said.
“I think making decisions at the county level is very challenging given how people move throughout the counties. The virus certainly does not respect county borders,” Cohen said. “I think it’s reasonable to look at regions, but we have to be guided by the data to do that.”
As of Thursday morning, there had been 199 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and eight deaths in Orange County, according to NCDHHS. There had been two reported outbreaks at nursing homes.
Johnston County
Clayton Mayor Jody McLeod said Cooper made a prudent decision in extending the stay-at-home order.
“He made the best call, I think,” McLeod said. “Down our way we’re definitely ready to jump back in on the new normal, whatever that’s going to be, but I think most people realize the governor is listening to the concerns that they have. He’s definitely taking steps to get us open but doing it in a safe way.”
“I know everybody is having a hard time and everybody probably needs a haircut. I can relate as a small business owner with what’s going on,” he said. “I think here in Clayton and Johnston County people have done a great job of stay-at-home and we’re getting the results to show that. He extended it for safety but I’ll acknowledge he, too, is concerned about North Carolina’s economy. There has to be a balance in decision-making. You’ve got to take care of business but you’ve got to take care of people, too.”
McLeod, Clayton’s mayor since 2003, said he recently spoke with Johnston County’s health director about the excitement around reopening the economy and people returning to churches and restaurants.
“But I’ll be really excited when the scientific community and the health-care community says ‘We’re in the clear to open this back up.’ Because I’m not hearing that from them,” he said. “I think the governor is doing the best he can do.”
Johnston County had 125 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 11 deaths as of Thursday night, it reported on its website. That included a local nursing home outbreak in which 47 residents and 21 staff members had tested positive and nine residents had died.
Chatham County
Chatham County did not enact its own stay-at-home order before the governor’s March 30 order.
In a statement, County Manager Dan LaMontagne affirmed the county’s adherence to Cooper’s extension.
“While we realize the sense of urgency to open our businesses and regain some normalcy, the health and safety of our residents and employees is of the utmost importance,” LaMontagne said.
Chatham County Commissioners Chair Karen Howard said the board was not surprised by the extension of the order and that it wasn’t a “prudent time” to reopen the economy.
Hours before the statewide order was extended to May 8, the Chatham County Solid Waste and Recycling department announced the cancellation of all May events, including a May 16 Earth Day event.
“In order to have enough time to get the word out to residents about these changes, we needed to make this decision now,” stated Kevin Lindley, the county’s environmental quality director, in a press release.
Alyssa Bird, president of the Chatham County Economic Development Corp., told The N&O that further extending the stay-at-home order hinders people’s use of recreation sites like Jordan Lake, which feeds the county’s tourism industry.
As of Thursday morning, Chatham County had 156 confirmed coronavirus cases and six deaths, according to the state.
On April 12, the county’s public health department said the number of cases at The Laurels of Chatham nursing home had risen to 57.
The N&O reported Wednesday that the Mountaire Farms chicken plant in Siler City, which employs nearly 1,600 workers, had 11 confirmed cases in an outbreak at the plant. According to WRAL, the plant began mass testing Thursday.
Order enforcement
Around the Triangle, people have been calling law enforcement with concerns about stay-at-home order violations.
The Wake County Sheriff’s Office has received 77 calls since April 1 but could not confirm whether it had issued any citations.
Orange County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Alicia Stemper said the department has received 102 calls but issued no citations.
The Durham County Sheriff’s Office has received five calls,, spokesperson AnnMarie Breen said.
The Raleigh Police Department did not respond to requests for numbers of calls, citations and arrests.
Durham police spokesperson Kammie Michael said the Durham Police Department has issued no citations. She referred a question about calls to another representative, Chandra Fullard, who referred The N&O to a 911 records email address. No one had responded to a request made to that address as of Thursday evening.
Eight people in Wake County have been charged with violating the state’s stay-at-home order. Three people have been charged by the Apex Police Department, two by the N.C. State Capitol Police and one each by State Highway Patrol, Wake County Sheriff’s Office and Raleigh Police Department.
Every Wake County “violation of executive order” charge came with additional charges, except for one N.C. State Capitol Police arrest, in which police said a woman protesting the stay-at-home order refused to disperse when she was asked to by law enforcement.
“We are not going out and giving citations and arresting people specifically because you are in violation of the order,” said Eric Curry, the Wake County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson. “It is going to be secondary to something else.”
“He (the governor) applauded what agencies like the Wake County Sheriff’s Office is doing, teaching them about the order,” Curry said. “This is not about citing people in a stressful time.”
Staff writers Chip Alexander, Virginia Bridges, Tammy Grubb, Ashad Hajela, Anna Johnson and Aaron Sanchez-Guerra contributed to this story
This story was originally published April 23, 2020 at 3:40 PM with the headline "Will Triangle counties follow NC governor’s lead in extending stay-at-home rules?."
