N.C. pauses in Safer at Home Phase 2,
adds face covering mandate

Governor Roy Cooper and North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen today announced that North Carolina will remain in Safer at Home Phase 2 for three more weeks. Cooper also announced that face coverings must be worn when people are in public places as officials seek to stabilize concerning trends of increasing viral spread.

Cooper and Cohen were joined by Dennis Taylor, President of the North Carolina Nurses Association and Eugene A. Woods, President and CEO of Atrium Health.

“North Carolina is relying on the data and the science to lift restrictions responsibly, and right now our increasing numbers show we need to hit the pause button while we work to stabilize our trends,” said Governor Cooper. “We need to all work together so we can protect our families and neighbors, restore our economy, and get people back to work and our children back to school.”

“I know North Carolinians are strong, resilient and care deeply about our communities. We pride ourselves on helping our neighbors. The best way we can do that now is by taking the simple action of wearing a face covering that covers your nose and mouth. If we each do our part, we can get back to the people and places we love,” said Dr. Mandy Cohen, NCDHHS Secretary.

Growing evidence shows that cloth face coverings, when worn consistently, can decrease the spread of COVID-19, especially among people who are not yet showing symptoms of the virus. Until now, face coverings had been strongly recommended. Under today’s executive order, people must wear face coverings when in public places where physical distancing is not possible.

Click here to read the entire release.

Health releases new COVID Dashboard with updated information on county cases

Orange County Health has unveiled a new dashboard that provides up-to-date information on the status of COVID within the county.

The dashboard is updated daily and is accessible from the Orange County website's main COVID page. The dashboard is also available in Spanish.

The dashboard presents data, including overall number of cases and deaths, demographic data in age, gender,ethnicity and race and a graph showing the number of cases over time. The case counts are updated daily. Demographic info is updated on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Data is based on the N.C. Electronic Disease Surveillance System and is a day behind the data provided by NCDHHS but has more comprehensive informaton.

Click here for the weekly COVID-19 press release from OC Health.

Orange County elected officials host Juneteenth Commemoration

Current and former African American elected officials of Orange County came together to share a Resolution in Recognition of 400 Years of the African American Story. This resolution was read by the elected officials. Past and present African American elected officials in Orange County were recognized as part of the program.

Following the resolution and recognition, Dr. Freddie Parker, Professor Emeritus of History at North Carolina Central University, gave a presentation on the history of Juneteenth. Video from the program is available on the Town of Carrboro YouTube channel by clicking on the image above.

OCAC Announces “Love Hillsborough” Community Art Project

The Orange County Arts Commission (OCAC) is excited to announce the Love Hillsborough Community Art Project in collaboration with Hillsborough artist Carlos González García. This public art project will feature small heart-shaped mosaics made by community members installed together to form a large mural. The mural will be installed on the westward facing wall on the ground floor of the Eno River Public Parking Deck in Downtown Hillsborough, directly behind Weaver Street Market.

Through a YouTube video, Carlos will instruct the public on how to make a small mosaic in the comfort of their own homes using items found at home or purchased from a local hardware store. This family-friendly summer project will be due to the OCAC office during the week of August 3. Drop off times will be coordinated to accommodate social distancing and proper cleaning. Carlos will then install the mosaics onto the wall, creating a largescale mosaic mural.

Carlos recently relocated to Hillsborough from Cuernavaca, Mexico. He holds a master’s degree in mosaics from Scuola Mosaicisti del Friuli (The Mosaic School of Friuli) in Spilimbergo, Italy, the only program in the world to offer such a degree. He plans to open NC MOSAIC, a mosaic school for the community, in the Eno Mill later this year.

Registration for Love Hillsborough is free but required. Please register at www.artsorange.org/lovehillsborough

To learn more about Carlos Gonzales Garcia, see his featured story as June’s Artist of the Month.

Upcoming activities from the Department on Aging

The Orange County Department on Aging has come up with many activities to keep clients engaged and active during the pandemic.

Line Dance Class
This class is a fun way to exercise both your body and your mind. Join with others and learn and basic steps to the most popular line dances.

Instructor: Bruce Gillooly.
Date: Thursdays
Time: 11:30 am
Join Zoom Meeting

Prime Time Players Online Readers’ Theater Series

Orange County Department on Aging’s in-house theatrical group, Prime Time Players (PTP), present their first-ever, online Reader’s Theater Production series. As a new way of connecting with their audience, PTP will bring a virtual production every other Tuesday at 2 p.m. for you to enjoy. Join them on the dates and times below or watch at your leisure by clicking on the available links:

The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant. (18 min): https://youtu.be/k_Mxt-6i7no
The Beggar and the King by Winthrop Parkhurst. (20 min): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rM7bMsPGvY&feature=youtu.be
The Boor by Anton Chekhov. (20 min Comedy) https://youtu.be/wYwyKwb1jzY

Subscribe to the Prime Time Players of Chapel Hill YouTube Channel to access all of their performances.

Strengthen Your Core – with Dianne Martin (Live). Join fitness instructor, Dianne Martin, every Wednesday and Friday for a core strength workout designed for older adults. Live classes offered via Zoom. Email Dianne at dmartin@gwu.edu to receive the password for the Zoom meetings below:

Wednesday Exercise Class - Time: 12 PM, Every Wednesday through July
Join Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/179967239 / Meeting ID: 179 967 239
Friday Exercise Class - Time: 12 PM, Every Friday through July
Join Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/497324203 / Meeting ID: 497 324 203

Library plans activities for summer

Summer Challenge: Will You Accept? | Fridays, June 19 – July 24. Watch our videos, then complete the tasks. Send pictures of your projects to library@orangecountync.gov so we can share on our website and on our Facebook Event page. New challenges available each Friday! Facebook | YouTube

What Are You Reading? A Book Club for Kids in Grades 3-5 | Thursday, July 2, 6:30 p.m. | Go to Meeting | 3-5. We are taking our book club online! Join us to talk about the book you are reading or most recently read. Sorry, no pizza! We will be using Go to Meeting to meet. Space is limited. Register here

www.orangecountync.gov