Press Releases

Governor Roy Cooper announced that North Carolina has received approval from FEMA to provide housing alternatives, such as hotels, motels, and dormitories, for North Carolinians with unstable housing who may need to quarantine in response to or are at high-risk for severe illness from COVID-19. 

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has two new mental health resources to support North Carolinians throughout the COVID-19 crisis. 

Governor Roy Cooper took action to provide more access to health care beds and get more medical workers to respond to the rising demand due the COVID-19 pandemic. He signed Executive Order No. 130, which expands the pool of health care workers and orders essential childcare services for workers responding to the crisis.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) is providing financial assistance to help essential workers afford child care and bonuses to child care teachers and staff who provide care during the COVID-19 crisis.

A collection of North Carolina experts today released a composite modeling forecast looking at how COVID-19 could affect North Carolina in the coming months. The models, constructed by experts from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University, RTI International, and others reinforced the need for limiting personal contact to slow the spread of COVID-19 and ensure that health care is there for people who need it.

Governor Roy Cooper announced another step to help families by prohibiting utilities from disconnecting people who are unable to pay during this pandemic. Today's Order applies to electric, gas, water and wastewater services for the next 60 days.

To help families access food during the COVID-19 pandemic, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is temporarily increasing benefits for March 2020 and April 2020 to current Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) recipients in North Carolina.

Governor Roy Cooper announced that the first payments for the unemployment claims related to coronavirus will begin going out this week.

Governor Roy Cooper announced today that parents who need food assistance for their children can text FOODNC to 877-877 to locate nearby free meal sites. The texting service is also available in Spanish by texting COMIDA to 877-877.

Governor Roy Cooper ordered the people in the state of North Carolina to stay at home for thirty days, until April 29, 2020, in another step to slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Governor Cooper’s Executive Order No. 121 takes effect on Monday, March 30 at 5 p.m. 

For people who think they might have COVID-19 and have mild symptoms, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends they stay home and call their doctor for medical advice. Most people who get COVID-19 will have mild illness and recover at home.

The White House granted Governor Roy Cooper’s request late Wednesday for a federal disaster declaration for the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic in North Carolina.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is reporting the first COVID-19 associated deaths. 

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) has partnered with the North Carolina Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) network to launch a hotline to provide child care options for children of critical workers who do not have access to typical care because of COVID-19 closures.

Governor Cooper directed $50 million in school funding flexibility to help public schools and support the greatest needs to serve students during the COVID-19 crisis. Governor Cooper has ordered North Carolina public schools to remain closed to in-class instruction through May 15. 

Governor Roy Cooper ordered tighter limits on gatherings and extended school closures statewide to May 15, 2020. 

Today, Governor Roy Cooper announced that North Carolina restaurants and bars will be closed to sit-down service and limited to take-out or delivery orders starting at 5 pm tonight, March 17, 2020. Grocery stores, gas stations, and convenience stores, are exempt from this order and will remain open, though they may not serve sit-down food.
Governor Roy Cooper today ordered all K-12 public schools in North Carolina to close for a minimum of two weeks in response to COVID-19. The Executive Order also bans gatherings of more than 100 people.
Two people from Forsyth County and a person from Johnston County have tested positive for novel coronavirus (COVID-19), bringing the total of positive cases in North Carolina to 12, including a Durham resident who tested positive in another state.
A second North Carolina person, unrelated to the first case, has tested positive for novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The test, conducted by the North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health, is presumptively positive and will be confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lab. The person is doing well and is in isolation at home.