As the number of COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Mecklenburg County, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management Office has announced a
Stay-at-Home order for County residents. The order will go into effect on Thursday, March
26 at 8:00 a.m. and will remain in effect until April 16, 2020.
The order was announced Tuesday afternoon by Mecklenburg County Manager Dena
Diorio during the Board of County Commissioners Budget and Public Policy
meeting.
The order will require County residents to remain in their homes for the next
21 days in an attempt to reduce the number of new COVID-19 infections within
the County. Exceptions will be allowed for those seeking medical treatment,
buying food or exercising outdoors.
Essential workers, including hospital and medical staff, pharmacy employees,
law enforcement, firefighters, EMS Agency (MEDIC), some government employees
and food service and grocery store employees will be allowed to travel to work.
There are also many other essential business operations that can continue to
operate.
“As we said from the beginning, we must act based on what we are seeing on the
ground in our community,” said Harris. “Mecklenburg County has far more cases
than any other County in North Carolina, and this extra step will keep more
people away from each other and begin to flatten the rate of new cases before
the hospital system becomes overwhelmed.”
The order will be enforced by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and the
police departments of the six towns in Mecklenburg County.
The order will not prohibit restaurants from providing take out or delivery
options. It also does not prohibit daycares, homeless shelters and government
agencies from operating.
For more information on the Stay-at-Home order including frequently asked questions, and a complete list of essential
services, visit MeckNC.gov/covid-19.