<div class="chunk-title">Sec. 26-61. - Restrictions authorized.</div>
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            <p class="incr0">
               (a)
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            <p class="content1">
               A state of emergency shall be deemed to exist whenever the chairman of the county
               board of commissioners makes a finding and declaration that an emergency exists. "Emergency"
               is defined to mean an occurrence or imminent threat of widespread or severe damage,
               injury, or loss of life or property resulting from any natural or man-made accidental,
               military, paramilitary, weather-related, or riot-related cause.
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               (b)
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            <p class="content1">
               In the event of an existing or threatened state of emergency endangering the lives,
               safety, health and welfare of the people within the county or any part thereof, or
               threatening damages to or destruction of property, the chairman of the county board
               of commissioners is hereby authorized and empowered under G.S. 166A-19.22 and 166A-19.31
               to make a finding of an emergency and to issue a public declaration declaring to all
               persons the existence of such a state of emergency, and, in order to more effectively
               protect the lives and property of people within the county, to place in effect any
               or all of the restrictions hereinafter authorized.
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               (c)
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               The chairman is hereby authorized and empowered to limit by the declaration the application
               of all or part of such restrictions to any area specifically designated or described
               within the county and to specific hours of the day or night; and to exempt from all
               or any part of such restrictions, while acting in the line of and within the scope
               of their respective duties, law enforcement officers, firemen and other public employees,
               rescue squad members, doctors, nurses, employees of hospitals and other medical facilities;
               on-duty military personnel, whether state or federal; on-duty employees of public
               utilities, public transportation companies and newspaper, magazine, radio broadcasting,
               and television broadcasting corporations operated for profit; and such other classes
               of persons as may be essential to the preservation of public order and immediately
               necessary to serve the safety, health, and welfare needs of people within the county.
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            <p class="historynote0">
               (Res. of 8-12-19(1))
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