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The city of Roanoke Rapids today announced it has enacted a curfew which will go into effect Friday at 9 p.m.

The city said in a statement this afternoon the action was executed as an amendment under its current state of emergency declaration which was signed by Mayor Emery Doughtie.

The curfew will be from 9 p.m. through 6 a.m. each day until further notice.

Public gatherings of three or more people occurring outside a single household or residential are prohibited under the order. The order does not prohibit indoor gatherings within a household or residential unit. 

(A PDF of the order may be found at this link)

The city said in the statement the state of emergency declaration which was dated March 13 and amended today will remain in effect until its termination or until another amendment is enacted.

The public safety curfew and restrictions on public and private gatherings is to help combat the spread of the novel coronavirus. 

City Manager Joseph Scherer said this afternoon the city has had no issues with large gatherings since a shelter at home order was enacted by the governor. “It’s just another way to prevent the spread of the virus and have emergency response workers have a better way to deal with it.”

Scherer did say people can still do outdoor exercise even before 6 a.m.

In the statement the city said during the curfew all individuals except those exempted from the curfew, shall not be on or travel upon any public street, alley, roadway or upon public property. People can still travel to and from work during the curfew or to seek health care. 

The following groups are exempted from the curfew: health care providers, human services providers, essential infrastructure operations, essential governmental operations workers, essential business workers, and individuals experiencing homelessness. 

This includes all first responders, emergency management personnel, emergency dispatchers, legislators, judges, court personnel, jurors and grand jurors, law enforcement and corrections personnel, hazardous materials responders, child protection and welfare personnel, housing and shelter personnel, military, and other governmental employees working for or to support COVID-19 essential businesses and operations. 

Halifax County case count

Meanwhile, the tenth confirmed case of COVID-19 was reported this afternoon in Halifax County.

Health Director Bruce Robistow said investigation is underway to determine whether any of the cases are related.

In a statement Robistow said the Halifax County Public Health System continues to monitor the positive case while following CDC guidelines for monitoring.  

Health officials are currently following up with other people who may have been exposed to this person.

Northampton County case count

Currently, there are 36 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in Northampton County. 

The three additional cases are in isolation, the health department said.

Four cases have been deemed recovered.

Further testing has been done and individual results are pending.