Governor Roy Cooper ordered last week for capacity regulations related to preventing the spread of COVID-19 to be relaxed effective on Friday, March 26.
Executive Order No. 204 allows some businesses including museums, retailers and salons to operate at 100% of their occupancy limits. It allows 75% capacity at restaurants and physical recreation facilities and 50% capacity at bars, movie theaters, meeting spaces and live performance venues. These businesses still have to offer patrons six feet of social distancing space and the mask mandate is still in effect. However, Cooper believes the new rules will offer North Carolinians a fair balance of continued vigilance against the disease and greater recreational freedom.
“Our fast and fair vaccine
distribution and our sustained progress with the COVID-19 metrics tell us we can move forward with easing restrictions if we do it safely,” Cooper said.
In Macon County, time will tell how much of a difference these changes will make. For example, movie theaters are some of the hardest-hit businesses in the COVID-19 era, but Ruby Cinemas owner David Parlier isn’t so sure the new executive order will help. He said having to keep up six feet of physical separation means increased capacity percentages won’t go as far for venues like his with fixed seating arrangements.
“The additional mandate takes precedence over any percentage given in the general description,” Parlier says. “This significantly reduces any positive impact of the order due to our fixed based seating and changing layouts is not financially feasible.”
Still, the order is a positive sign of the progress North Carolina has made in combatting the pandemic. Tommy Jenkins, chairman of the Macon County Economic Development Commission, said the order is a positive development for the local service industry. While he isn’t sure what the order means for new developments in coronavirus policy months from now, he’s optimistic about the tourist season for 2021.
“As we loosen restrictions, our businesses can begin to offer more services, particularly our restaurants and our hospitality businesses,” Jenkins said.
Executive Order 204 is available to read in its entirety online at governor.nc.gov/documents/executive-order-no-204.