Thread by @NC_Governor

Updates from Gov. Cooper's COVID-19 briefing:

https://twitter.com/NC_Governor/status/1330948411844136960

As of today, we have 339,194 cases; 2,419 new cases reported since yesterday; 1,601 people in the hospital, and sadly 5,039 people who have died. We’ve passed the grim benchmark of losing more than 5,000 North Carolinians to COVID-19. They will not be forgotten.

This week our state and the country are reporting record high case numbers and hospitalizations. I have a stark warning for North Carolinians today: We are in danger. This is a pivotal moment in our fight against the coronavirus. Our actions now will determine the fate of many.

With our metrics worsening and the case counts at records levels, we updated the map earlier than we had planned so North Carolinians can see right now where things stand.

This week you’ll see that 10 more counties have been designated as red, indicating critically high levels of community spread. We now have 20 red counties and 42 orange counties. This is deadly serious.

We need communities and local governments all over the state – but especially in these red and orange hotspots - to work with us to enforce the strong safety rules we already have in place.

Our numbers are too high. Hospitals and health care workers are strained. And more counties are moving into the orange and red zones. We've taken strong steps to prevent the spread of this virus, and today we'll do more.

Our statewide mask requirement has been in effect since June and it is still our best weapon in this fight. Today’s executive order will further tighten that mandate, making it clear that everyone needs to wear a mask whenever you are with someone you don’t live with.

That means wearing a mask at home when you have friends or family over to visit. It means a mask at work, at the gym, at the store, at school.

This order also strengthens the role of businesses in ensuring masks are worn by everyone in the store — staff and customers — and that they are abiding by capacity limits so that people can stay distant and can stay safe.

Today’s order builds on our action to limit gatherings to 10 people indoors, indoor bar closures, occupancy restrictions for retail stores, restaurants and other public businesses along with our mask mandate. The order extends these protections through December 11.

Wearing a mask over our mouth and nose is the best thing we can do to prevent the spread of this virus. It costs so little, but it does a lot to put countless dollars back into our economy by making it safer to visit stores and other businesses.

When we rolled out our county alert map last week, we asked local governments to work with us and step up enforcement. One of those is the City of Greensboro, and thank you Mayor Vaughan for your leadership on this matter.

I know other local governments are taking action, and we appreciate their efforts to protect their communities. We know what works in our fight against this virus – wear a mask, wash your hands, wait 6 ft apart. These can help us make it safely to the other side of this pandemic.

But as I said at the outset, how we get to the other side is up to each of you. We want people to follow the safety guidelines to slow the spread. If they don’t, the rules need to be enforced, and we’re working with state and local governments to do just that.

We don’t want to go backward, but we will if it’s necessary. The next 7 to 14 days will tell us whether we are stemming the tide or whether we need to ratchet it up even more.

We know the other side of this pandemic is not very far off because we have such promising vaccines in the works. Until then, our safety measures will save lives and keep our economy going until we get across the bridge.

Last week, the CDC recommended against going to see extended family and friends for Thanksgiving. Please listen to that guidance and adjust your plans as needed. Remember, when it comes to the holidays, smaller and smarter is safer.

I know it’s been a long 9 months of virtual church, holidays, birthdays and more. But if we can keep it up just a bit longer, we can ensure that more loved ones make it to next year’s Thanksgiving table.

We have presented a lot of information today, but our message remains the same – this virus is deadly, it’s spreading too fast, and it’s up to each one of us to slow it down.