North Carolina will be locked down at least until Friday, May 8, according to a new executive order issued by Gov. Roy Cooper on Thursday, April 23.

The statewide stay-at-home order had been set to expire on Wednesday, April 29, but Cooper said the state was not yet where he wanted it to be to begin the process of opening the state back up.

Cooper said that three conditions had to be met before he would begin relaxing the stay-at-home order and explained how the process of allowing businesses to reopen would work.

According to the press release, the three conditions Cooper set before he begins relaxing the stay-at-home order are:

  • “Sustained Leveling or Decreased Trajectory in COVID-Like illness (CLI) Over 14 Days.”

“Currently, North Carolina’s syndromic surveillance trend for COVID-like illness is decreasing over the last 14 days.

  • “Sustained Leveling or Decreased Trajectory of Lab-Confirmed Cases Over 14 Days.”

“Currently, North Carolina’s trajectory of lab-confirmed cases over the last 14 days is increasing at a slow rate.”

  • “Sustained Leveling or Decreased Trajectory in Hospitalizations Over 14 Days”

“Currently, North Carolina’s trajectory of Hospitalizations over the last 14 days is largely level with a slight trend upward.”

Cooper said that he also wanted to see an increase in laboratory testing, an increase in tracing capacity and the availability of personal protective equipment (PPE).

As far as testing goes, according to the press release currently about 2,500 to 3,000 people are being tested per day in the state and the goal is to increase that to 5,000 to 7,000 per day.

North Carolina has about 250 people doing contact tracing and the goal is to double that to 500.

The state wants to ensure that it has a 30-day supply of PPE. According to the press release the state has less than a 30-day supply of gowns and N95 masks.