N.C. governor enacts statewide curfew on sale of alcohol at restaurants, bars remain closed

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) -North Carolina’s governor has enacted a statewide curfew on the sale of alcohol at restaurants as the cornavirus pandemic continues in the state.

Restaurants must stop selling alcoholic drinks after 11 p.m. and bars will remain closed.

The curfew is effective Friday, July 31. at 11 p.m. The curfew will remain in effect through 11 p.m. on Aug. 31.

Executive Order 153 stops the sale of alcoholic drinks in restaurants, breweries, wineries, and distilleries at 11 p.m.

These establishments are then banned from resuming alcohol sales until 7 a.m.

The full order for the curfew can be found here.

The order will not apply to grocery stores, convenience stores or other entities permitted to sell alcohol for off-premises consumption.

Governor Roy Cooper says this is being done to drive down numbers and continue our trends moving in the right direction.

The governor says public health experts and examples from other states show that bars and other places where people gather closely together are a high-transmission setting.

“We want to prevent restaurants from turning into bars after hours. We’re hopeful that this new rule can help drive down cases,” Gov. Cooper said.

Local governments that have implemented orders that end alcohol sales before 11 p.m. or that apply to other entities remain in effect.

The governor says their orders will remain in place as long as they are as strict or more strict, and the statewide order will go into effect anywhere that does not already have such a curfew already.

“This will be particularly important as colleges and universities are scheduled to start, bringing people all over the country to our state. We’ve seen case numbers increase among younger people, and prevention is critical to slowing the spread of the virus,” Gov. Cooper said.

Frequently asked questions about the curfew can be found below.

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