At the press conference on January 4th, Governor Cooper and Secretary Kinsley called on all North Carolinians to get vaccinated and get a booster as soon as they are eligible to protect themselves from severe illness from the highly contagious Omicron variant of COVID-19.
The Governor and Secretary also urged the use of well-fitting, multi-layer masks as another layer of protection against spread of the virus. If possible, wear a surgical or procedure mask, a KN95, or an N95. NCDHHS is making some higher-grade masks available for adults at no cost in more places that need them, such as long-term care facilities and federally qualified health centers, and for schools staff and populations like migrant farm workers who are at higher risk of exposure or severe illness. Essential service organizations can request these to receive high quality masks based on priority here: https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/RequestMasks