By WECT Staff | June 9, 2020 at 1:53 PM EDT – Updated June 10 at 4:39 AM
RALEIGH, N.C. (WECT) – The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has issued an abatement order that requires ACE Speedway in Alamance County to immediately close its facility and halt operations after a series of races brought in crowds that surpass the state’s health guidelines.
In a news release Tuesday afternoon, the NCDHHS said the speedway’s actions “constitute an imminent hazard for the spread of COVID-19, an acute threat to North Carolinians which must not continue.”
This order follows a letter sent last week by Governor Roy Cooper’s office to ACE Speedway that their actions are in “open defiance” of Executive Order No. 141, which limits mass gatherings.
Gatherings of more than 25 people in a confined, outdoor space are prohibited in the executive order.
Health officials said that ACE Speedway admitted more than 2,500—and possibly as many as 4,000—spectators to attend races held at the track on May 23, May 30 and June 6.
While the abatement order halts the speedway’s operations, race officials are allowed to propose a new plan that emphasizes restrictions on mass gatherings and social distancing precautions, which could allow races to resume.
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