Governor Cooper Orders Increased Access to Childcare, DMV Clarifications | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    RALEIGH: Governor Roy Cooper has waived restrictions to increase access to caregivers to provide flexible child care and elder care during the coronavirus emergency. The Order provides flexibility to local health departments working to adapt to the increased need for their resources.

    Additionally, it provides for ways for Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) offices to enact social distancing protections, and waives some registration requirements to ensure resources can be delivered by truck throughout the state.

    "Doctors, nurses, first responders and other critical personnel need to know their children are safe so they can continue to respond during this time of crisis," said Governor Cooper. "And we're loosening trucking requirements so important medicine and equipment can get quickly to the the people in all 100 counties that need it."

    The Order provides for the following provisions:

• Improve access to safe, flexible child care for first responders, emergency personnel, food preparers and others;
• Transfer authority to local health departments to be more flexible with mandates during the crisis, so they can prioritize the most needed services;
• Lifts some restrictions so that volunteers and other caregivers may care for children and elders during the crisis.

    The transportation waiver includes provisions to:

• Allow DMV offices to ensure appropriate social distancing including requiring appointments and making sure offices have enough space for DMV customers;
• Postpone DMV hearings that can reasonably be delayed during the crisis response;
• Offers clarity around regulations so that critical supplies can get where they are needed throughout the state;
• Waive Commercial Driver's License requirements to ensure school buses can be utilized in responding to the crisis.

    The North Carolina Council of State concurred with the order Friday. The full order is available HERE.

    Make sure the information you are getting about COVID-19 is coming directly from reliable sources like the CDC and NCDHHS.

    For more information, please visit the CDC's website at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus and NCDHHS' website at www.ncdhhs.gov/coronavirus, which includes daily updates on positive COVID-19 test results in North Carolina.

• Contact: Ford Porter
•     govpress@nc.gov