The number of people testing positive for COVID-19 continued to rise Saturday in North Carolina as new measures were ordered by Gov. Roy Cooper to try to stem the spread of the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Gov. Roy Cooper announced Saturday he had signed an executive order requiring public schools to be closed until March 27 and stopping mass gatherings of more than 100 people. The order came after the number of cases of COVID-19 statewide rose Saturday to at least 26.

In response to Cooper’s order, Bishop Luis Rafael Zarama canceled all weekend Masses in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh until further notice. He also ordered that the diocese’s schools be closed for two weeks.

The state Department of Health and Human Services reported on its website there are 23 cases in North Carolina, an increase of eight from the 15 reported on Friday. The DHHS total doesn’t include the new cases reported Saturday by Mecklenburg, Johnston and Harnett counties.

Among the new confirmed cases is a teacher at Fuquay-Varina Elementary School.

All but one of those cases are listed as “presumptive positive,” meaning the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will run second tests to confirm the results.

As of Saturday, DHHS said there are 11 cases in Wake County, two in Forsyth County and one each in Durham, Chatham, Johnston, Cabarrus, Harnett, Onslow, Wayne, Brunswick, Craven and Mecklenburg counties.

The state lab and LabCorp have tested more than 500 residents, said Dr. Mandy Cohen, head of the state Department of Health and Human Services.

Testing is ramping up, even though challenges getting enough testing supplies continues, she said.

Cohen said she hoped to have information about community based testing sites, including drive-through testing, in coming days.

At least one of Wake County’s new cases, according to county officials, is related to a Boston conference that employees of Biogen in the Triangle attended. Another is a teacher at Fuquay-Varina Elementary School.

Wake County health officials say the teacher began feeling sick Tuesday. The Wake County Public Health Division is currently contacting anyone who may have come into close contact with the teacher, in order to assess exposure risk.

Johnston County health officials said the new case is not unexpected because the person lives in the same household as the first person who tested positive.

Harnett County said Saturday the person in the new case, it’s second, is isolated at home.

Also on Saturday, UNC chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz announced in a statement that students at the school are discouraged from returning to campus after spring break.

“Today, we are writing to strongly urge these students – residential, off-campus and graduate students with no research or teaching responsibilities – to NOT RETURN TO CAMPUS the week of March 16 and spend the week at their homes,” the statement read.

Students will be notified by March 18 about plans for the following week, according to the statement.

Wake Tech Community College announced on Saturday that it is closing its campuses. Students will switch to online classes by March 23.

“All on-campus classes and activities had already been suspended until April 5, however this is an additional measure to limit access to campuses for employees and visitors. Employees should not report to work until further notice. We remain on schedule to transition to all online classes as of Monday, March 23,” the statement read.

Increase in Wake County’s cases

Wake County’s cases increased by two since Friday.

Other recent cases include one reported on the Camp Lejeune Marine base in Onslow County and a person isolated at home in Harnett County, according to Cape Fear Valley Health.

On Saturday, Mecklenburg County Public Health Director Gibbie Harris said a person who recently returned from the United Kingdom has tested positive for COVID-19. She said the person is being isolated at home and family members are being quarantined at this time.

Also on Saturday, Craven County’s Public Health Department announced that a man who had returned from traveling internationally had tested positive. Officials said he’s isolated at home.

State Health Director Dr. Elizabeth Tilson emphasized during a press briefing Friday afternoon that none of the cases in North Carolina to that point had been the result of “community transmission,” in which someone becomes infected without traveling or coming into contact with someone known to have the virus. Tilson said all cases in the state are travel-related or the result of known-contact exposure.

Coronavirus around the US

As of Friday, there had been 1,629 cases of coronavirus reported in the U.S. and 41 deaths from the disease, according to the CDC.

President Donald Trump on Friday declared a national emergency around the coronavirus pandemic, opening the door for the federal government to offer some funding help for state and local governments working to stem the spread of illness. Trump said the declaration would free up as much as $50 billion, according to the Associated Press.

The NHL and NBA have suspended their seasons, and the NCAA and ACC canceled their basketball tournaments. The Masters and other golf tournaments and the Boston Marathon were postponed, and NASCAR has put off upcoming races in Atlanta and Miami.

Wake and Johnston’s decision to close schools comes after Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Orange, Chapel Hill-Carrboro and Durham schools already made that decision.

The Dreamville music festival in Raleigh was postponed from April to August. “Les Miserables” canceled at the Durham Performing Arts Center. And the City of Raleigh announced that all large events planned for its facilities would be canceled or postponed through April 15, effectively shuttering the Raleigh Convention Center and Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts.

Previous North Carolina cases

The state’s first case on March 3 involved a Wake County man who tested positive. Officials say he was exposed at a long-term care facility in Kirkland, Washington, the site of an outbreak, and then returned to North Carolina.

At the time of his return, he was “not experiencing symptoms” and presented no “identifiable risk” to travelers, according to RDU.

On March 5, a Chatham County man who had traveled to northern Italy, where there’s a COVID-19 outbreak, tested presumptively positive, state health officials said March 6. The man experienced “mild flu-like symptoms” while traveling in northern Italy, but his fever went away, the state said. He flew back to the United States the next day, arriving in RDU via John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

The man was a “close contact” to a case in Georgia, the state said, and Georgia health officials contacted their North Carolina counterparts.

On March 11, two more Triangle residents were announced to have tested positive. A Wake County resident is connected to the patient in Indiana.

A Durham County resident tested positive in another state and will remain there until the isolation period is complete, Durham health officials said. They did not say what state the Durham resident is in and said the person did not have close contact with any Durham County residents while exhibiting symptoms, according to a release.

Coronavirus is primarily a respiratory disease, with symptoms similar to seasonal flu. According to the CDC, symptoms of coronavirus include fever, cough and shortness of breath.

People with questions or concerns about COVID-19 can call the state’s phone line at 866-462-3821.

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This story was originally published March 14, 2020 at 11:03 AM with the headline "Coronavirus cases rise to 26 in NC. Gov. Cooper orders new rules to slow spread.."