North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper announced a Wilson County patient is the first case of 'community spread' in the state. That means the source of the infection is unknown and the person did not have any known contact with someone who tested positive for the virus, nor did they travel to a state or country with a high number of cases.
"Confirmed community spread is a signal that we need to accelerate to the next phase of work which is mitigation," Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen said during a news conference. She emphasized continuing to follow social distancing guidelines and stressed the need for additional resources for health care workers.
"Everyone must do their part to slow the spread of this virus," Cohen said. "Our individual actions matter."
Cooper also said he is working closely with the federal government to determine what economic resources will be made available for the state and residents.
"This is going to be hard on our economy," Cooper said. "People at home are worried about that next rent payment."