Gov. Roy Cooper announced Wednesday, June 24, that not only will the state not move into Phase 3 on Friday, June 26 as planned, but he is imposing more restrictions on the people of North Carolina.

The plan was for the state to move into Phase 3 of the already painfully slow reopening process on Friday, but Cooper said that it would be July 17 before the Phase 3 went into effect and, by the way, everyone in North Carolina has to start wearing masks on Friday, June 26. So not fewer restrictions, but more restrictions are going into effect Friday at 5 p.m.

Cooper also said that it is the responsibility of businesses to enforce the mask requirement and if businesses don’t enforce it they can receive citations.

Evidently from what Cooper said at the press conference, an individual cannot be cited for not wearing a mask. He said that if a person not wearing a mask refused to leave a business, that person could be charged with trespassing.

In his remarks, Cooper also said that people protesting should wear masks when there are numerous photos of Cooper not wearing a mask when with protestors in Raleigh.

Not everyone was pleased with Cooper’s decision to continue to lock down the economy of the state. President Pro Tem Sen. Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) in a press release said, “In Roy Cooper’s North Carolina, the Governor can walk with a group of protestors with no mask on, but you can’t take your son or daughter to a playground.

“Rioters can break windows and set fires with impunity, but you can’t exercise on an elliptical machine.

“We’re assured that masses of mask-less people gathered together in the streets caused no rise in cases, yet we’re now all required to wear masks because the danger is too great.

“The inconsistencies and hypocrisy continue to eat away at the trust in and credibility of this administration.”

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