April 17, 2020

Yesterday, Wake County, in coordination with all 12 of its municipalities, extended its stay-at-home order through April 30^th. I stand with our county leaders and my fellow mayors in supporting this effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 in our community. Under the updated stay-at-home guidelines, all retail businesses in Raleigh and countywide will be allowed to operate if they provide delivery or curbside pickup options for customers. The new order also allows faith organizations to hold drive-in services if social distancing practices are followed. 

These have been some of the most challenging times we’ve faced as a community, but I want to emphasize that staying at home is working. We are still working with health officials to gather the most up-to-date local data possible, and we are seeing evidence of the curve beginning to flatten across North Carolina. This wouldn’t have been possible without your continued commitment to staying at home and following social distancing guidelines. Eventually, there will be a time to discuss how we begin to relax restrictions and reopen some businesses, but we can only do so based on definitive data, the advice of our public health experts and an ample supply of testing and PPE. Please continue to follow orders from our city, Wake County and our Governor to keep our community safe. 

I realize not everyone has the luxury of staying at home, and that many of Raleigh’s residents rely on public transportation to get to work, the pharmacy, and grocery stores. The city is taking every precaution to ensure the safety of bus drivers and other frontline workers by providing them with sanitization pumps and PPE and focusing on social distancing. If you do have to go out for an essential reason, I strongly encourage you to wear a face covering in the interest of your safety and the safety of others. You can learn how to make one at home from the CDC’s website here.

This week marks National Public Safety Telecommunications Week, and I want to thank the men and women of Raleigh and Wake County who respond to emergency calls and save lives in our community every day. They are some of the unseen heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic. I also want to thank all of Raleigh’s public safety employees, our health care workers, and all city workers who are on the frontlines of this crisis.

Next Tuesday, the city council will hold a special meeting to discuss a grant fund for small businesses in Raleigh as well as distribution of emergency funds from the CARES Act. In the meantime, small businesses and impacted workers can find coronavirus-related resources from the City of Raleigh and more here. The meeting is virtual via Webex and starts at 1pm. You may watch on the City’s website, YouTube, or RTN 11.