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ROY COOPER
GOVERNOR

August 5, 2020

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO.155

EXTENSION OF PHASE 2 MEASURES

TO CONTROL PUBLIC HEALTH RISKS AND
SAVE LIVES IN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Background Statement

The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency

WHEREAS, on March 10, 2020, the undersigned issued Executive Order No. 116 which
declared a State of Emergency to coordinate the State' s response and protective actions to address
the Coronavirus Disease 2019 ("COVID-19") public health emergency and provide for the health,
safety, and welfare ofresidents and visitors located in North Carolina; and

WHEREAS, on March 11 , 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a

global pandemic; and

WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, the President of the United States issued an emergency
declaration for all states, tribes, territories, and the District of Columbia, retroactive to March 1,
2020, and the President declared that the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States constitutes a
national emergency; and

WHEREAS, on March 25, 2020, the President approved a Major Disaster Declaration,
FEMA-4487-DR, for the State ofNo1th Carolina; and

WHEREAS, in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, and for the purpose of protecting
the health, safety, and welfare of the people of North Carolina, the undersigned has issued
Executive Order Nos. 116-122, 124-125, 129-131 , 133-136, 138-144, and 146-153; and

WHEREAS, more than one hundred twenty-nine thousand people in North Carolina have
had laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19, and over two thousand people in North Carolina
have died from the disease; and

The Need to Extend Executive Order No. 141

WHEREAS, hospital administrators and health care providers continue to express

concerns that unless the spread of COVID-19 is limited, existing health care facilities and
resources may be insufficient to care for those who become sick; and
 WHEREAS, slowing and controlling community spread of COVID-19 remains critical to
ensuring that the state's healthcare facilities remain able to accommodate those who require
medical assistance; and

WHEREAS, the undersigned has taken a series of measures to limit the spread of
COVID-19, including requiring safety measures in certain business settings, limiting mass
gatherings, closing certain types of businesses and operations, requiring face coverings in many
places where people may travel or congregate, and limiting alcoholic beverage sales for onsite
consumption; and

WHEREAS, the undersigned has also urged that all people in North Carolina follow social
distancing recommendations, including that people should: (i) wear a cloth covering over the nose
and mouth, (ii) wait six (6) feet apart and avoid close contact, and (iii) wash hands often or use
hand sanitizer; and

WHEREAS, the undersigned and the Secretary of Health and Human Services have also
directed hospitals, physicians' practices, and other health care entities to undertake significant
actions as part of North Carolina's emergency response to address the COVID-19 pandemic; and

WHEREAS, North Carolina's daily case counts of COVID-19, the percentage of

COVID-19 tests that are positive, emergency department visits for COVID-19-like illnesses, and
hospitalizations for COVID-19 are no longer increasing, but remain at a high level; and

WHEREAS, to slow the spread of COVID-19 and reduce COVID-19 morbidity and
mortality, it remains necessary to use a phased approach to reduce restrictions on businesses and
activities, with some businesses and activities that pose an increased risk for COVID-19 spread
remaining closed, since the loosening of each restriction on businesses and activities adds
incremental risk and thereby increases the aggregate risk of spread of COVID-19; and

WHEREAS, in this phased approach, the undersigned must factor into the analysis the
risk from all activities in and affecting North Carolina, not only activities covered by the Executive
Orders; and

WHEREAS, in August 2020, many colleges, universities and K-12 schools, both public
and private, will reopen for in-person instruction; and

WHEREAS, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services ("NCDHHS")
has issued required COVID-19 guidance for K-12 public schools that includes mandatory safety
measures that are intended to prioritize the health and safety of students while also recognizing the
essential role that schools play for children, parents, and teachers; and

WHEREAS, the required COVID-19 guidance, which has also been approved by the
North Carolina State Board of Education, contains various measures intended to protect the health
and safety of students, parents, and teachers, including but not limited to requiring face coverings
in most contexts, limiting density in classrooms, and enabling public school units to elect full
remote learning at their option; and

WHEREAS, NCDHHS has also issued guidance for institutions of higher education that
includes measures to protect the health and safety of students, staff, and professors, along with
measures to promote behaviors that will reduce the spread of COVID-19 and create a safer
environment in residential housing and classrooms; and

WHEREAS, there are many public health benefits, economic benefits, and societal
benefits to reopening K-12 schools, colleges, and universities for in-person instruction, but these
in-person gatherings of students, staff, teachers, and professors will increase the risk ofCOVID-19
spread, even after all health and safety measures are put in place; and

WHEREAS, to balance out this additional risk, it is necessary to continue to restrict certain
kinds of businesses and operations, so that North Carolina can continue to have a safe margin for
North Carolina's health care facilities to have sufficient capacity and resources to care for those
who become sick; and

WHEREAS, these trends and considerations require the undersigned to continue the
measures of Executive Order No. 141, as amended by Executive Order Nos. 147, 151, and 152, to
slow the spread of this virus during the pandemic; and

WHEREAS, should there be an increase in the percentage of emergency department visits

that are due to COVID-19 like illness, an increase in the daily number of laboratory-confirmed
cases, an increase in the positive tests as a percent of total tests, or an increase in COVID-19-
related hospitalizations that threaten the ability of the health care system to properly respond, or
should the State's ability to conduct testing and tracing be compromised, it may be necessary to
reinstate certain restrictions so as to protect the health, safety, and welfare of North Carolinians;
and

Statutory Authority and Determinations

WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 116 invoked the Emergency Management Act, and
authorizes the undersigned to exercise the powers and duties set forth therein to direct and aid in
the response to, recovery from, and mitigation against emergencies; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat.§ 166A-19.10(b)(2), the undersigned may make,
amend, or rescind necessary orders, rules, and regulations within the limits of the authority
conferred upon the Governor in the Emergency Management Act; and

WHEREAS, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 166A-19.10(b)(3) authorizes and empowers the

undersigned to delegate Gubernatorial vested authority under the Emergency Management Act
and to provide for the sub-delegation of that authority; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat.§ 166A-19.23 in conjunction with N.C. Gen. Stat.
§§ 75-37 and 75-38, the undersigned may issue a declaration that shall trigger the prohibitions
against excessive pricing during states of disaster, states of emergency or abnormal market
disruptions; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat.§ 166A-19.30(a)(l), the undersigned may utilize
all available state resources as reasonably necessary to cope with an emergency, including the
transfer and direction of personnel or functions of state agencies or units thereof for the purpose
of performing or facilitating emergency services; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 166A-l 9.30(a)(2), the undersigned may take
such action and give such directions to state and local law enforcement officers and agencies as
may be reasonable and necessary for the purpose of securing compliance with the provisions of
the Emergency Management Act and with the orders, rules, and regulations made thereunder; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 166A-19.30(c)(i), the undersigned has

determined that local control of the emergency is insufficient to assure adequate protection for
lives and property of North Carolinians because not all local authorities have enacted such
appropriate ordinances or issued such appropriate declarations restricting the operation of
businesses and limiting person-to-person contact, thus needed control cannot be imposed locally;
and

WHEREAS, pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 166A-19.30(c)(ii), the undersigned has

determined that local control of the emergency is insufficient to assure adequate protection for
lives and property of North Carolinians because some but not all local authorities have taken
implementing steps under such ordinances or declarations, if enacted or declared, in order to
effectuate control over the emergency that has arisen; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 166A-19.30(c)(iii), the undersigned has

determined that local control of the emergency is insufficient to assure adequate protection for
lives and property of North Carolinians because the area in which the emergency exists spreads
across local jurisdictional boundaries and the legal control measures of the jurisdictions are
conflicting or uncoordinated to the extent that efforts to protect life and property are, or
unquestionably will be, severely hampered; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 166A-19.30(c)(iv), the undersigned has

determined that local control ofthe emergency is insufficient to assure adequate protection oflives
and property of North Carolinians because the scale of the emergency is so great that it exceeds
the capability of local authorities to cope with it; and

WHEREAS, N.C. Gen. Stat.§ 166A-19.30(c) in conjunction withN.C. Gen. Stat.§ 166A-
19.3l(b)(l) authorizes the undersigned to prohibit and restrict the movement of people in public
places; and

WHEREAS, N.C. Gen. Stat.§ 166A-l 9.30(c) in conjunction with N.C. Gen. Stat.§ 166A­
l 9.3 l(b)(2) authorizes the undersigned to prohibit and restrict the operation of offices, business
establishments, and other places to and from which people may travel or at which they may
congregate; and

WHEREAS, N.C. Gen. Stat.§ 166A-l 9.30(c) in conjunction with N.C. Gen. Stat.§ 166A­
l 9.3l(b)(5) authorizes the undersigned to prohibit and restrict other activities or conditions, the
control of which may be reasonably necessary to maintain order and protect lives or property
during a state of emergency; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 166A-19.30(c)(l), when the undersigned

imposes the prohibitions and restrictions enumerated in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 166A-l 9 .31 (b ), the
undersigned may amend or rescind the prohibitions and restrictions imposed by local authorities;
and

NOW, THEREFORE, by the authority vested in me as Governor by the Constitution and

the laws ofthe State ofNorth Carolina, and for the reasons and pursuant to the statutes listed above
and in Executive Order Nos. 141, 147, and 151, IT IS ORDERED:

Section I. Extension and Amendment of Phase 2 Order.

Executive Order No. 141 shall remain in effect, as amended, until 5 :00 pm on September 11, 2020.
The effective date provisions of Executive Order Nos. 141, 147, and 151 are amended to have
those orders continue in effect through the above-listed time and date.

Section II. Technical Amendment to Remove Reference to a Previous Expiration Date.

Section 6(F)(3) of Executive Order No. 141 is amended to read as follows:

3. Relationship to Other Executive Orders. Subdivisions 1 and 2(a) of this Subsection

completely replace Subsections (C) and (D) of Section 2 of Executive Order No. 130.
Subsections 2(A)-2(B) and 2(E)-(H) of Executive Order No. 130 and Section 3 of
Executive Order No. 139 shall continue in effect as specified in Executive Order No.
152 and any subsequent executive orders.

Section III. Update to Provision on Student Nutrition.

Section l0(A) of Executive Order No. 141 is amended to read as follows:

A. School and Health Officials to Continue Efforts. NCDHHS, the North Carolina
Department of Public Instruction, and the North Carolina State Board of Education are
directed to continue to work together during this State of Emergency to maintain and
implement measures to provide for the health, nutrition, safety, educational needs, and
well-being of children being taught by remote learning.

Section IV. Extension of Price Gouging Period.

Section 11 of Executive Order No. 141 is amended to read as follows:

 Pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § l 66A-l 9.23 , the undersigned extends the prohibition
against excessive pricing, as provided in N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 75-37 and 75-38, from the
issuance of Executive Order No. 116 through 5:00 pm on September 11 , 2020.

The undersigned further hereby encourages the North Carolina Attorney General
to use all resources available to monitor reports of abusive trade practices towards
consumers and make readily available opportunities to report to the public any price
gouging and unfair or deceptive trade practices under Chapter 75 of the North Carolina
General Statutes.

Section V. Distribution.

I hereby order that this Executive Order be: (1) distributed to the news media and other
organizations calculated to bring its contents to the attention of the general public; (2) promptly
filed with the Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, the Secretary of State,
and the superior court clerks in the counties to which it applies, unless the circumstances of the
State of Emergency would prevent or impede such filing; and (3) distributed to others as necessary
to ensure proper implementation of this Executive Order.

Section VI. Effective Date.

This Executive Order is effective at 5:00 pm on August 7, 2020. This Executive Order
shall remain in effect through 5:00 pm on September 11 , 2020 unless repealed, replaced, or
rescinded by another applicable Executive Order. An Executive Order rescinding the Declaration
of the State of Emergency will automatically rescind this Executive Order.

Notwithstanding any provision of this Section and Section 16 of Executive Order No. 141 ,
any statewide standing order for COVID-19 testing issued by the State Health Director under
Section 9.5 of Executive Order No. 141 (as added by Section III of Executive Order No. 147) shall
remain in effect for the duration of the State of Emergency unless specifically repealed, replaced,
or rescinded.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto signed my name and affixed the Great Seal
of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in the City of Raleigh, this 5 th day of August in the
year of our Lord two thousand and twenty.

Governor

ATTEST:

Secretary of State