Press Releases

To help families access food during the COVID-19 pandemic, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is temporarily increasing benefits for March 2020 and April 2020 to current Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) recipients in North Carolina.

Governor Roy Cooper announced that the first payments for the unemployment claims related to coronavirus will begin going out this week.

Governor Roy Cooper announced today that parents who need food assistance for their children can text FOODNC to 877-877 to locate nearby free meal sites. The texting service is also available in Spanish by texting COMIDA to 877-877.

Governor Roy Cooper ordered the people in the state of North Carolina to stay at home for thirty days, until April 29, 2020, in another step to slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Governor Cooper’s Executive Order No. 121 takes effect on Monday, March 30 at 5 p.m. 

For people who think they might have COVID-19 and have mild symptoms, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends they stay home and call their doctor for medical advice. Most people who get COVID-19 will have mild illness and recover at home.

The White House granted Governor Roy Cooper’s request late Wednesday for a federal disaster declaration for the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic in North Carolina.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is reporting the first COVID-19 associated deaths. 

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) has partnered with the North Carolina Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) network to launch a hotline to provide child care options for children of critical workers who do not have access to typical care because of COVID-19 closures.

Governor Cooper directed $50 million in school funding flexibility to help public schools and support the greatest needs to serve students during the COVID-19 crisis. Governor Cooper has ordered North Carolina public schools to remain closed to in-class instruction through May 15. 

Governor Roy Cooper ordered tighter limits on gatherings and extended school closures statewide to May 15, 2020. 

Today, Governor Roy Cooper announced that North Carolina restaurants and bars will be closed to sit-down service and limited to take-out or delivery orders starting at 5 pm tonight, March 17, 2020. Grocery stores, gas stations, and convenience stores, are exempt from this order and will remain open, though they may not serve sit-down food.

Governor Roy Cooper today ordered all K-12 public schools in North Carolina to close for a minimum of two weeks in response to COVID-19. The Executive Order also bans gatherings of more than 100 people.

Two people from Forsyth County and a person from Johnston County have tested positive for novel coronavirus (COVID-19), bringing the total of positive cases in North Carolina to 12, including a Durham resident who tested positive in another state.

As North Carolina continues to prepare for the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, the NC State Laboratory of Public Health (NCSLPH) within the NC Department of Health and Human Services is now able to perform testing for the virus. This new capability allows North Carolina to more quickly take public health steps to respond to any positive test result.

North Carolina is among states rated as high performers in public health emergency preparedness measures by a nonpartisan, nonprofit that advocates for optimal health for people and communities through prevention of illness and injuries.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today released the final report on the public health investigation into an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in people who attended the NC Mountain State Fair held Sept. 6–15, 2019 at the Western North Carolina Agricultural Center in Fletcher, NC.

A new federal grant will help North Carolina partner with local justice systems — including local law enforcement, courts and others — to prevent opioid overdoses and connect people to treatment. Governor Roy Cooper announced today that the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services was awarded $6.5 million over the next three years by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance.