By Wednesday afternoon, North Carolinians will likely know which COVID-19 restrictions are loosening. The executive order detailing the current modified stay-at-home order expires at the end of the month, and Gov. Roy Cooper has promised details on what will replace it some time this week.
The governor’s office has a coronavirus briefing scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday. So, it is likely Cooper will announce the new order then.
A source close to the governor told NBC affiliate WRAL-TV that Cooper is considering allowing increased capacity at sporting events for high school and college athletics, in addition to potentially easing other restrictions.
Last week, Cooper said any of the current restrictions would be “on the table” to change, including occupancy limitations for businesses and the curfew.
According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 dashboard, 779,122 people statewide have gotten both doses of the vaccines. That is less than 8% of the state’s population.
Based on case counts from NCDHHS, at least 846,284 people in the state have had the virus, which is just about 8% of the population as well.
While there is still much to learn about how much those two groups of vaccinated and infected people overlap, how much COVID-19 cases are going undetected, length of immunity, and how variants might play into it, the immunity estimates noted above show the population that still has a ways to go before reaching herd immunity.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it is researching what the threshold for coronavirus herd immunity is, but many health experts believe it is likely upwards of 70%. #COVID19 #Coronavirus
