North Carolina's COVID-19 task force is asking FEMA to provide quarantine shelters as part of the effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
At a press conference Thursday afternoon, state Emergency Management Director Mike Sprayberry said FEMA's approval would provide thousands of rooms for people who could be infected with COVID-19.
"This program would provide individual rooms in places like hotels, dormitories or other buildings for people who have been exposed to COVID-19 or who have tested positive, but don't need hospitalization," he said. "Also for people who are symptomatic and awaiting test results."
North Carolina saw its single largest one-day jump in identified cases Thursday, with the total number approaching 2,000. Meanwhile, Sprayberry said the state still has less than half of the N-95 masks it requested from the federal government to protect healthcare workers.