Orange County 'stay at home order': A detailed list of restrictions

Orange County, in coordination with the Towns of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough, is developing a 'stay at home' order in the interest of public safety and to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

Posted 1:25 p.m. Mar 26, 2020 — Updated 2:33 p.m. Mar 26, 2020

Orange County, in coordination with the Towns of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough, has issued a 'stay at home' order in the interest of public safety and to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

The order goes into effect for all residents starting Friday, March 27 at 6 p.m. and remains in effect until April 30 at 5 p.m.

Here's what to know:

All residents must stay at home, leaving only for essential reasons critical to health and safety
If leaving the home, residents must remain six feet from others, except those with whom they share a home
Residents must regularly and thoroughly wash hands when outside the home
All businesses and not-for-profit entities not expressly exempted must suspend all in-person operations
Operations that can be conducted online or by phone, or sales that can be facilitated with curbside pickup or delivery, may continue
Exempt business include, but aren't limited to: Grocery stores, pharmacies, hardware stores, fuel products, news media and maintenance of critical infrastructure.
Residents may go to the doctor or vet, go grocery shopping, go to the pharmacy, exercise outdoors, pick up takeout food and go to care for family members or friends.

For a full list of restricted activities and businesses, please refer to the 'stay at home' order.

The impact on small local businesses

Local leaders are considering the economic impact of a 'stay at home' order on local small businesses, while prioritizing public safety.

NC unemployment claims top 166,000

Greene writes, "Last night, we held our first virtual meeting as a board. The main agenda item was the approval of an emergency fund to provide grants and loans to local small businesses."

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