RALEIGH, N.C. — About 50,000 state employees in North Carolina will either have to verify they've gotten vaccinated for the coronavirus or wear a mask while at work and get tested weekly, Gov. Roy Cooper said Thursday.

The new executive order from the governor comes as the statewide mask mandate is set to expire this week. The new order applies to anyone working for cabinets, including the departments of Public Safety, Commerce, Envorvironmental Quality and Natural and Cultural Resources.

“Until more people get the vaccine, we will continue living with the very real threat of serious disease, and we will continue to see more dangerous and contagious variants like delta,” the governor said.

North Carolina’s new rules for state employees are similar to new requirements for announced today for federal workers and contractors.

The state reported more than 3,200 new cases Thursday, the highest number since February, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services. Hospitalizations are increasing too, with more than 1,140 COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

"As you will see, after months of low numbers, our trends have turned sharply in the wrong direction," Cooper said at a news conference Thursday. "I want to be clear about why: Unvaccinated people are driving this resurgence and getting themselves and other people sick."

Cooper said he hopes other state agencies not directly under his control will make similar rules for employees. He also asked businesses to follow suit.

"This is a big step, requiring proof from state employees that they’ve been vaccinated," Cooper said. And he hopes it will encourage more employees to get vaccinated.

"This is to protect state employees and customers who may come in," he said. "We’ve all got to pull together to do this."

DHHS Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen said that today is different from times when cases spiked before.

"We’re now in this new moment. Delta is more contagious, not just for adults but for children as well," she said. But vaccines are available for free to all across the state, she said.

Cohen also updated her guidance for unvaccinated people. She said anyone who is not fully vaccinated should wear a mask indoors. She also said people who have gotten the vaccine should avoid gathering with those who have not.

The delta variant is much more contagious and is fueling the rise in cases, she said.

With the version of the coronavirus the state saw last year, a person who got the virus would, on average, transmit it to two to three people, Cohen said. With the delta variant, one infected person transmits the virus on average to six people, she said.