North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) issued an executive order on Wednesday mandating that everyone going outside their homes wear masks or any other type of facial covering to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The order requires people to wear masks while visiting retail stores, restaurants, day cares or any other places out in public if they cannot maintain a physical distance of six feet. The only exceptions are for children under 11 years old and those with certain medical conditions that prevent them from covering their faces.
In his statement, Cooper described the requirement as a “simple way to control this virus while we protect ourselves and the people around us.”
“We’re adding this new requirement because we don’t want to go backward,” the governor said. We want to stabilize our numbers so we can continue to safely ease restrictions, and most importantly, get our children back in school.”
