North Carolina coastal town lifts visitor restrictions

BEAUFORT, N.C. (AP) — A coastal town in North Carolina is lifting restrictions it imposed on visitors because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The town of Beaufort in Carteret County on Monday ended its police checkpoint near U.S. Highway 70, WITN-TV reported.

Mayor Rett Newton said the move is the first step toward taking the waterfront town back to normal. It comes after the Beaufort Business Development Association urged town leaders last weekend to take the checkpoint down.

Newton said the checkpoints would be reestablished if the county experiences a spike in new cases.

Beaufort declared a state of emergency on March 17 because of the threat posed by the coronavirus and enacted restrictions that were to remain in effect through April 29. On April 9, the city established checkpoints that limited access to full-time county residents, people sheltering in place and essential workers.