New Hanover County Stay at Home order remains in effect, some restrictions lifted

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — New Hanover County’s Stay at Home order that was set to expire at 5 p.m. will remain in effect for two more weeks, with fewer restrictions.

New Hanover County Board of Commissioners Chair Julia Olson-Boseman, in collaboration with the mayors of the City of Wilmington and the towns of Carolina Beach, Kure Beach and Wrightsville Beach, will extend the Order until April 29 at 5 p.m. to continue mitigating the spread of COVID-19 in our community.

The following restrictions will be lifted at 5 p.m.

• Public and private marinas and boat ramps can be opened
• Public and private tennis and pickleball courts can be opened

In addition, several enhancements have been made to the order:

“Safety, security, clothing and communication” have been added to the list of essential retail that can be open (the overall list now includes goods needed for health, sustenance, shelter, safety, security, communication, mobility, clothing and hygiene).

Stores providing essential goods will no longer be asked to close off sections that are deemed non-essential. So all aisles of essential retailers can be open if they so choose, but dressing rooms should remain closed.

Auto dealerships, boat dealerships and other motor vehicle sales points are allowed to operate but must comply with an 11-point safety test that will be shared as part of the final, signed declaration.

“As we move through the coming days and weeks, it’s important that we continuously reevaluate the restrictions in place and revise them as needed,” said Olson-Boseman. “Our local mayors and I will continue to do that throughout this process, and we hope to be able to lift other restrictions in the coming weeks. Those decisions will be informed by our Public Health and hospital experts, who have the greatest insight into this health crisis and can help guide those decisions in a thoughtful, safe way. The community’s health is paramount, but we also know that we need to get back to life, reopen businesses, and access services as soon as possible. By allowing tennis courts, boat ramps and marinas to open, we hope that people will enjoy these spring days outside, but you have to use good judgement, physically distance yourself from others, and avoid congregating for any reason.”

While the county did let go of a few restrictions, there is still debate amongst commissioners about how much is too much.

Commissioner Woody White shared his opinion in response to a post on the county’s Facebook page asking people to stay at home.

“As 1 commissioner on this Board, I do not support these fear-mongering messages posted by bureaucrats on our county page,” White said. “Health officials have consistently relied on false/unreliable modeling as the justification for taking away virtually every right we have as citizens. And while the risk posed by Covid is real, we all have other risks that we are confronting. Covid is not the only risk we should be worried about- it does not have a monopoly on on victims. In fact, it poses less threat than so many others that we face everyday. And I’m disappointed that our health department and public information department continues to focus solely on this low risk, while we watch devastation unfold in every other aspect of our lives.Everyone should be careful and use caution in their lives. But you should also live your lives and assess your own risk and do whatever you can to support your families snd employees. #reopenNC

Boseman says they’re making these decisions based on what health professionals recommend.

Dr. Phil Brown with NHRMC says the Cape Fear region is still far behind some other cities, and the only proven tools we have are distancing and hygiene practices.

“It’s also very important to understand, the measures that were taken when the Governor’s order originated two weeks ago, we haven’t even had the opportunity to see how well they’ve worked,” Brown said.

An updated State of Emergency declaration that consolidates, restates, and supersedes the previous declaration will be signed at a press conference today at 1 p.m., then posted online on the county’s FAQ webpage at Health.NHCgov.com/Coronavirus.

The press conference will be streamed live on NHCTV.com and the county’s Facebook page.

The county’s updated declaration supports the Governor’s statewide orders, including the most recent new social distancing policies for retail establishments, to slow the spread of COVID-19 and help prevent our healthcare system from becoming overburdened.

“While there is some loosening of restrictions, it is still critical that our residents listen to our Public Health guidance,” said Public Health Preparedness Coordinator Lisa Brown. “The cases we are reporting are the people whose symptoms are more severe and are therefore having testing done, so remember that there are other people – outside of our 60 – who likely have this virus and have more mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. The more you can stay home and keep at least six feet of distance from others, the better your health and the health of those around you will be.”

We will have more details tonight on WWAY News.