State's rules for wearing masks, indoor gatherings ease on Friday
Starting Friday night, there'll be more instances where you'll be able to leave the mask inside as you go outside in North Carolina.
Posted — UpdatedStarting at 5 p.m, Executive Order No. 209 will take effect. The order dictates that masks will still be required indoors and in enclosed spaces, but will no longer be mandated outdoors.
Gov. Roy Cooper raised the limit for indoor gatherings, bringing the permitted number from 50 to 100 people. Also starting on Friday, up to 200 people will be able to gather outside. Occupancy limits will stay the same.
The CDC eased mask guidelines recently, revising rules so that fully vaccinated Americans don't need to wear masks outside except for when in large crowds. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services still strongly recommends wearing masks outdoors in crowded areas and in situations where social distancing is difficult.
The state's hope is for more vaccinations during May in order to lift more restrictions. As of Wednesday, the state has administered over 7 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Last week, Gov. Cooper announced most pandemic-related restrictions in North Carolina will be lifted on June 1, including capacity limits on businesses and distancing requirements.
The White House COVID-19 response team will hold a briefing at 11 a.m. on Friday to update the nation on the latest guidance. Officals are still strongly encouraging as many people get vaccinated as possible.
"Everybody wants to be free of the restrictions," Dr. Anthony Fauci said to NBC's Lester Holt. "Everyone has a degree, sometimes a high degree, of COVID-19 fatigue and we want to get back to normality and the vaccine is going to get us there."
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