During Wednesday’s press conference, Gov. Roy Cooper discussed his next steps in releasing COVID-19 restrictions. 

He plans to lift mandatory social distancing, mass gathering and capacity restrictions by June. 1. If two-thirds of N.C. have at least one vaccination dose, the mask mandate could be lifted to where a mask is only required for public indoor spaces. 

“With at least two-thirds of adults vaccinated, our public health experts believe we will have enough protection across our communities to be able to live more safely with this virus and begin to put this pandemic behind us,” Cooper said.

North Carolina’s current executive order increased capacity and the mass gathering limit. 

Retail businesses, museums and salons are allowed to have 100 percent capacity. Restaurants and entertainment businesses such as gyms, pools and amusement parks have 75 percent capacity. The mass gathering limit allows 50 people to be outdoors and 100 people indoors. 

Next week, a new executive order will be announced; the order will be enforced for the month of May.