North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is easing of some of the business and social restrictions he's put in place to limit the spread of coronavirus Tuesday afternoon by announcing a "Phase 2.5" plan.North Carolina has been in phase two of Cooper's three-part plan to reopen businesses and resume social activities during the pandemic since late May. Three times, he has pushed back the timetable for moving into the final phase, saying infections and virus-related hospitalizations and deaths were still trending upward and hadn't stabilized enough.Under the new plan, the following changes are allowed: • Mass gathering limits will increase to 25 people indoors and 50 people outdoors from the current limit of 10 indoors and 25 outdoors. • Playgrounds may open. • Museums and aquariums may open at 50% capacity. • Gyms and indoor exercise facilities, such as yoga studios, martial arts, and rock climbing, as well as skating rinks, bowling alleys, indoor basketball, volleyball etc., may open at 30% capacity. • Bars, nightclubs, movie theaters, indoor entertainment facilities, amusement parks, dance halls will remain closed. • Large venues remain subject to the mass gathering limits.The new phase starts at 5 p.m. Friday. WXII 12 News spoke with one gym owner. James Belk, the owner of Hog Town Fitness said to keep his members fit, his gym has been hosting virtual classes and has even been posting workouts on Instagram. Belk said while his members are excited, the last several months have been tough. “The gyms don’t make a lot of money and whenever a good chuck of that income disappears, well it’s hard to make sure rents paid lights are kept on so that whenever we can open up which I was glad to here about today, well glad to say we are still here,” said Belk.Another of Cooper's restrictions – banning alcohol sales for on-site consumption after 11 p.m. – was extended on Monday to last until Friday, Oct. 2.During Tuesday's news conference, Cooper also announced that North Carolina is lowering the age requirement for mask wearing to 5 years old, instead of 11 years old."Safer at Home Phase 2.5 continues our state's dimmer switch approach to easing some restrictions," Cooper said. "We can do this safely only if we keep doing what we know works — wearing masks and social distancing. In fact, a new phase is exactly when we need to take this virus even more seriously."Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, shared an update on North Carolina's data trends at the gathering. Cohen explained that North Carolina has seen stability in key metrics. "As we take modest steps forward today, it's important to remember that moving forward doesn't mean letting up on slowing the spread of the virus. Our progress is fragile and we need to maintain focus on the 3Ws especially as we head into flu season," Cohen said. • North Carolina's syndromic surveillance trend for COVID-19-like illness continues to decline. • North Carolina's trajectory of lab-confirmed cases is stable. • North Carolina's trajectory in percent of tests returning positive is stable. • North Carolina's trajectory of hospitalizations is declining. Although these numbers are still stable or declining, they remain high, Cohen said. In addition, NCDHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen issued a Secretarial Order allowing for outdoor visitation at nursing homes or skilled nursing facilities. To participate, nursing homes must meet several requirements, including, but not limited to, not having a current outbreak, having a testing plan and updated written Infection Control or Preparedness plan for COVID-19, and having adequate personal protective equipment.The Secretarial Order is effective as of September 4 at 5 p.m. and remains in effect through September 22, 2020.This is a developing story. Stay with WXII 12 News for updates.