Durham orders residents to stay at home because of virus; Wake, Orange counties to follow

Wake County will issue a similar order on Thursday, Board of Commissioners Chairman Greg Ford said. Orange County also is working on a stay-at-home order.

"If we're going to stop the spread of the virus, this is our window," Schewel said at a news conference. "The earlier we act, the better our chances of success in reducing the spread of this virus and in saving lives. The earlier we act, the shorter will be the economic disruption in our lives."

Durham County has 84 cases of COVID-19, the illness associated with the coronavirus, while Wake County has 73.

"For the past two days, Wake County commissioners and staff from the County Manager’s office have been in close contact with state and local public health officials, leaders from local hospitals and mayors and municipal managers from each of Wake County’s 15 towns and cities. We are also having crucial conversations with our local business community. County staff have been working with urgency on a draft declaration based on that input," Ford said in an email.

Tracking the coronavirus curve

Orange County has just 13 cases of COVID-19, but officials there said they are drafting a stay-at-home order in conjunction with officials from Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough. No date for the order has been announced.

Durham County officials are working on a similar order, and a "revision of the county emergency ordinance" is on the agenda for the county Board of Commissioners' meeting on Friday afternoon.

“My hope is to be able to implement a countywide order on Friday. Staff are working on this right now. During our special meeting on Friday, we need to first approve necessary revisions to the County Emergency Ordinance," Board of Commissioners Chair Wendy Jacobs said in a text message.

"Home is exactly where people need to be right now," Schewel said. "We are fortunate the numbers in North Carolina and in Durham are still low, and the point is to keep it that way."

No one will be arrested or cited under the order "unless someone continuously and egregiously" violates it, Schewel said, noting that young people in Durham ignoring the public health advice to limit gatherings and maintain distance from others prompted the order.

Minimizing public activity also would help protect health care providers from becoming infected and from being overwhelmed by a surge in COVID-19 cases, Schewel said.

"There is no need to fear this virus if we act, and the way we can act together is to stay at home," he said. "Each of us can act so all of us are safe."

Kathy Huber, who lives in Durham and works at a local law firm, said the order is needed.

"My husband has COPD, so he’s one of the reasons why there’s a stay-at-home order in effect," Huber said. "I’m appreciative of that."

"I think all precautions should be taken into effect," resident Philip Ruddiman said. "I think, if we can lock it down early, it’s better for everybody."

Local officials across Wake County are bracing for the impact of a county-wide stay-at-home order.

"We've been in discussions with the county and with other towns, but we're really at a wait-and-see mode right now," Holly Springs spokesman Mark Andrews said. "Meanwhile, we're sort of working over the rules that have been in place for us over the last few days."

Holly Springs has already shut down its municipal offices, with staff working remotely.

"It's our intent to follow the county's lead," Andrews said. "We've done that so far, and we're waiting on the final word of any orders or declarations that come out, what might be in that final wording."

"For us to arrest somebody it would have to be extreme circumstances. Someone would have to flagrantly violate the order and refuse to comply," Hayworth said, noting law enforcement won't be stopping people to ask where they're going but will ask groups to disperse.

"We just have to get that message out to everybody: This isn't a time to panic. This isn't a time to freak out," he said. "This is a time to come together and do what we can do, everybody together to eliminate this virus."

Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said the time has come for more restrictions as the number of coronavirus cases in the Triangle grows.

"We need a stay-at-home order now to protect as many citizens as possible," Baldwin said. "I think we need to err on the side of health but also be mindful of businesses."

Restaurants and bars are already restricting to drive-thru service or takeout or delivery orders, but even more would have to shut down under a stay-at-home order.

"The disruption ... for the private sector and for North Carolina citizens whose financial well-being and overall welfare depends on their ability to work cannot be underestimated," Salamido said in a statement. "It would fashion a massive disturbance that could create the opposite of its intended effect."

Baldwin said issuing a stay-at-home order isn't something officials take lightly.

"This is not something that is easy," she said. "We're either going to cost people jobs – we know that – or they could come down with a serious illness, and that's not a choice."

Tichnor said a Wake County order "absolutely means we won't be showing up here anymore and kind of hunker in and do our part to help get past this, and hopefully everybody stays healthy and it goes quickly."

Even though supermarkets would remain open under any order, Richard Wilkins went shopping in Raleigh on Wednesday to stock up.

"I am hearing they are about to lock Wake County down, so I am trying to go out and grab everything we might need ... to try to hold us over until everything kind of blows over," Wilkins said. "We are just going to have to adapt to it."

"I don’t think people are going to stay home. They are going to do what they want to do," Gee said.

She said she sees a lot of people each day, and times have been tough for many of them.

"It has been kind of awkward because you can’t get what you want, how you want and when you want it," she said.

Durham woman's push for NC shelter-in-place order gaining momentum

Cooper wouldn't commit to a statewide order on Wednesday, despite the growing number of communities taking action.

"It is important to make sure we are deliberate and that we get this right. We are telling people now we want them to stay home,” he said.