During Wednesday's briefing, Governor Roy Cooper announced that face coverings will be required for everyone in public including employees at stores.
Cooper also announced North Carolina will not move forward to Phase Three due to high rise in case numbers. North Carolina will remain in Phase Two for three weeks.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services released their daily update involving coronavirus cases within the state.
As of Wednesday, there are now 56,174 cases, 906 people hospitalized and 1,271 coronavirus related deaths.
That is 1,721 new cases and 20 additional deaths from Tuesday. The state is also reporting a decrease in hospitalizations with 9 people being reported discharged since Tuesday.
A total of 791,285 people in North Carolina have now been tested. That is an additional 17,457 tests submitted from Tuesday.