Under Mecklenburg County's stay-at-home order, residents are only allowed to leave the house for essential needs, such as food shopping. | Photo Courtesy of Pixabay
Under Mecklenburg County's stay-at-home order, residents are only allowed to leave the house for essential needs, such as food shopping. | Photo Courtesy of Pixabay
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management Office issued a 21-day stay-at-home order for Mecklenburg County residents in March.
The 21-day order was announced March 24 during the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners Budget and Public Policy meeting. In addition to the local regulation, the county along with the rest of the state is under a statewide stay-at-home order the governor issued that will last until at least April 30.
The stay-at-home order, which started on March 26, is designed to help reduce the number of new COVID-19 cases, Fox 46 Charlotte reported on March 24.
"As we said from the beginning, we must act based on what we are seeing on the ground in our community," Mecklenburg County Public Health Director Gibbie Harris told Fox 46 Charlotte.
As of April 2, there were 495 positive COVID-19 cases and one death in the county. Statewide, the Department of Health and Human Services reports 1,857 cases and 16 deaths.
During the stay-at-home order, residents can go grocery shopping, pick up medicine and prescriptions at pharmacies, visit the doctor or hospital, pick-up take-out food or order delivery and care for family members or friends, according to a review from Fox 46. Individuals are also allowed to exercise outside, walk their pets, take pets to the veterinarian, deliver necessary supplies to friends or family and receive deliveries from businesses.
"Mecklenburg County has far more cases than any other County in North Carolina, and this extra step will keep more people away from each other and begin to flatten the rate of new cases before the hospital system becomes overwhelmed," Harris told Fox 46.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department will enforce the stay-at-home order, Fox 46 reported.
The order does not prohibit take-out or delivery from restaurants, according to the county statement. Daycares, homeless shelters and government agencies will continue to function.
Essential workers will also be allowed to leave their homes such as medical workers, pharmacy employees, law enforcement, firefighters, EMS, select government officials, food service employees and grocery store workers, according to the county statement.
Residents can't be less than six feet apart when shopping or anywhere else in public. Hospital and nursing home visits won't be allowed unless otherwise states on the facility websites. Non-essential traveling is also not allowed under the order.
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