RALEIGH - North Carolina governor Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency over COVID-19 at a noon press conference March 10.

The declaration activates the Emergency Operations Center, which will help agencies coordinate their responses, according to a press release from Cooper's office.

A state of emergency also allows the state government to protect consumers from price gouging, increases county health departments' access to state funds and makes it easier to purchase essential medical supplies, the release said.

Cooper traveled west Tuesday afternoon holding a second press conference at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, where officials outlined much of the same information.

Recommendations for elderly, event cancellation

Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, outlined the state's recommendations for people at high risk — people over the age of 65 or with underlying health conditions should avoid large gatherings as much as possible, including church services, concerts and sporting events.

Cohen also recommended that facilities where many adults live, including nursing homes, long-term care facilities and correctional facilities, restrict visitation as much as possible.

State:What we know about coronavirus in North Carolina so far

Local:How prepared is Buncombe for the coronavirus? Here's what we know.

She encouraged event organizers to develop lenient refund policies and urge attendees to stay home if they are at high risk or experiencing symptoms.

Officials are not recommending preemptive closure of schools at this time, Cohen said.

Shortage of test supplies, waiting for FDA approval for new tests

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hasn't delivered promised testing supplies to North Carolina, Cooper said. The state reached out to the supplier of these chemicals directly, but they're currently "on back order," officials said.

North Carolina is waiting for Federal Drug Administration approval to use an alternative test for COVID-19, Cohen said.

"That is a way we can get around the supply issue because (the new) testing mechanism does not have us rely on (the same supply of chemicals)," she explained.

The new test will not be a blood antibody test, like some that have been used in Asia, state health director Dr. Elizabeth Cuervo Tilson told the Citizen Times.

"As of 11:45 a.m., we have tested a total of 44 people," Tilson said.

Samples for an additional 25 patients are in the queue for testing at the state lab, she said.

The FDA gave the state lab permission to conduct the tests "a little bit differently," Tilson said, which means they now have enough supplies to test 300 more people.

Supplies to test an additional 180 people are on back order from the CDC, Tilson said, and officials hope supplies for an additional 90 people will arrive from another commercial supplier.

This story is breaking and will be updated as new information becomes available.

Elizabeth Anne Brown is the trending news reporter for the Citizen Times. Reach her at eabrown@citizentimes.com, or follow her on Twitter @eabrown18.

Keep local journalism possible with a subscription to the Citizen Times.