Wake County leaders announced tightened coronavirus restrictions at a press conference Sunday, ordering the closure of more businesses, canceling all gatherings of more than 50 people, and barring people from public playgrounds.
“This is a challenging time, and it requires us to make difficult decisions to keep Wake County residents safe,” said Commission Greg Ford. “Our hope is that these new restrictions will maximize opportunities for the public to practice social distancing, which should help reduce the spread of COVID-19.”
So far, there have been 49 confirmed cases of the highly-contagious virus in Wake County but no reported deaths. Nationwide, nearly 30,000 cases have been confirmed and more than 300 people have died.
“We are not at the point yet where we feel a stay-at-home order is necessary,” county manager David Ellis said. “We hope that these new restrictions will achieve our goals of limiting the spread of COVID-19 and protecting the capacity our health care system to serve our residents so we don’t have to take that step.”
Here’s a full list of the new rules:
The restrictions will go into place starting at 8:00 a.m. Monday.
The county has set up a phone line to answer questions from businesses about whether they can remain open. Those with questions should call 919-856-7420.
Contact Raleigh news editor Leigh Tauss at ltauss@indyweek.com.
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