Recent editorials from North Carolina newspapers:
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July 22
The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer on enforcing North Carolina’s COVID-19 restrictions:
In managing the state’s response to the pandemic, Gov. Roy Cooper wields the power of the bully pulpit.
He used it Tuesday, zeroing in on those who won’t wear masks. He said, “For those who continue to defy basic decency and common sense because they refuse to wear a mask - either wear one or don’t go in the store.” He also said: “The refusal to wear a mask is selfish. It infringes on the life and liberty of everyone else in the store.”
But sermonizing about decency and the evils of selfishness won’t get the breadth of compliance needed. That’s where the bully in bully pulpit comes in. The governor needs to do more than talk tough, and he needs to do it with more than those who aren’t wearing masks.
If gym owners slyly cite a customer’s “medical needs” as a reason to open - as is happening in North Carolina - make those gyms produce a doctor’s note from every customer. If gyms can’t do so, they should be fined and possibly forced to close.
If N.C. bar owners continue to defy orders to stay closed by claiming they are private clubs, send Alcohol Law Enforcement agents into those “clubs” every night for proof of membership. If it’s a sham club, they should face the possibility of a suspended liquor license.
As attorney general, Cooper spent 16 years as North Carolina’s top cop. Somehow, as governor, he’s gotten shy about law enforcement, with a notable exception: Cooper forced ACE Speedway, which flouted his restrictions on business, to shut down. He should do the same with other defiant businesses.
Finally, the governor should remind the UNC system that it, too, must comply with COVID-19 safety requirements as campuses reopen. Faculty and graduate students who teach at UNC-CH and N.C. State say university leaders appear to be unprepared for the risks of reopening and are leaving it to them to enforce rules about social distancing and wearing masks.
It’s unfortunate that Cooper or any governor would have to get tough to get people to do the right thing. But the early “we’re all in this together” spirit has shown cracks under the stress of social isolation and financial losses and some are exploiting the gaps.
So far, Cooper has done a commendable job managing this pandemic. He has stood firm against the reopen protests, vetoed Republican bills calling for the reopening of bars and gyms and rejected the president’s call to reopen schools as usual. Had he not stood his ground, many more North Carolinians would have been sickened or died.
Now, however, the governor has arrived at a new phase. He’s facing restlessness and obtuseness. He needs to do more than preach that all should cooperate. He needs to punish those who won’t.
The city of Miami, for instance, is issuing fines for not wearing a mask starting at $50 and going up to $500 for repeat offenders. Miami City Manager Art Noriega said, “The only way to ensure compliance in some way, shape or form is you have to have a heavy hand.”
Being heavy-handed isn’t an easy role of Cooper. By nature, he’s moderate and tolerant. Politically, he’s running for re-election, and he doesn’t want to give credence to a Republican opponent who has criticized his orders as excessive. But while restraint in enforcement may serve the governor’s re-election, it undermines his cause.
More than 1,600 people have died from COVID-19 in North Carolina and more than 1,000 are now fighting for breath in its hospitals. More than 100,000 cases of infection have been confirmed since March.
North Carolina, like most of the world, is under siege from this virus. Cooper is fighting it, but he should also call to account those who are ignoring it.
Online: https://www.newsobserver.com
Online: https://www.charlotteobserver.com
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July 19
The Winston-Salem Journal on lessons that can be learned during the pandemic from states bordering North Carolina:
Our neighbor to the north, Virginia, enacted a new set of temporary rules last week promoted by Gov. Ralph Northam to help protect workers during the coronavirus pandemic.
The new regulations require employers to follow social-distancing guidelines, including providing hand sanitizer or access to sinks and regularly cleaning work surfaces. Employers will be required to provide masks to workers who deal with customers.
In addition, employers must notify workers within 24 hours when a co-worker has tested positive for the virus.
Employers are legally bound to follow these rules, subject to inspections and fines.
This is an extension of Northam’s decision in May to require all Virginians to wear face masks when in public indoor areas. Considering the surge of coronavirus cases in June and to this present day, his order now seems practically prophetic.
It also appears to be in sharp contrast to our neighbors to the south in Georgia, where Gov. Brian Kemp has not only refrained from requiring mask-wearing in public places, but has forbidden localities in the state from requiring masks. Kemp is suing Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms for mandating masks in Atlanta.
“Georgians don’t need a mandate to do the right thing,” Kemp said last week. We’ll bet they do. Unfortunately, people don’t always do the right thing on their own volition, particularly when they’re eaten up with bad information.
As of Friday, Georgia had reported 131,275 cases and 3,104 deaths from coronavirus.
Virginia, 74,431 cases and 2,007 deaths.
North Carolina sits between, with 93,426 cases and 1,588 deaths.
Not that we should make too much of the raw numbers; many different factors go into the strength of the virus in any area - including how willing its citizens are to help prevent its spread.
Northam said in a statement last week that the Virginia rules were being implemented “in the face of federal inaction.”
“Workers should not have to sacrifice their health and safety to earn a living, especially during an ongoing global pandemic,” he said.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Mayor Allen Joines have also made tough decisions, requiring masks to be worn state- and citywide, respectively.
Governance is necessary for society to function properly; we must have laws, order and justice. Even though we may not like to admit it, we still count on government - we need government - to be the bad guy sometimes and enforce what’s best for the steady, safe flow of information and commerce, whether it be speed limits so that we don’t have a bunch of Dale Earnhardts on the roads or collecting taxes to pave those roads so we can get our goods to market - or safety measures so that we don’t pass a deadly virus to one another.
Because much of our political system relies on winning elections - which means being popular - officials sometimes have to muster the courage to make unpopular decisions in the best interests of the public.
It falls on responsible citizens to handle these decisions with calm maturity.
These decisions aren’t beyond legitimate questioning from political rivals. But in a health crisis, adherence to safety standards should come before campaigning. Dissent for the sake of dissent risks life and health.
We’ve seen, in states like Utah, people who have decided that it’s more important to be ungovernable than to practice the kind of cooperation that will be required to finally beat the virus. We’ve seen people demand that businesses open even while objecting to the safety measures that would allow swifter and broader reopenings.
This selfish obstinance is not commendable in any way. It only leads to more harm.
Online: https://journalnow.com
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July 18
The Fayetteville Observer on a local school district’s decision to begin instruction online only:
Last Tuesday, Gov. Roy Cooper offered a school reopening plan that allowed school systems to offer a mix of in-person and remote learning - or offer only remote learning. Some systems have already decided they will offer only the latter option, at least initially, as cases of COVID-19 surge in the state. On Friday morning, Cumberland County Schools Superintendent Marvin Connelly Jr. indicated our system should do likewise.
He will ask the school board to approve a request to begin the school year, scheduled for Aug. 17, online only, at a special meeting on Tuesday morning. He did not specify a time frame of how long remote-only learning should last. School systems in other counties have opted to do online for the first nine weeks at least.
Connelly’s idea is the most-wise move right now for the system, which, with 50,000 students, is the state’s fourth largest. We would hope the board would seriously consider the superintendent’s request.
The state’s COVID-19 numbers continue to go in the wrong direction. Health Director Mandy Cohen on Thursday showed that positive tests and hospitalizations continue to rise and emergency departments are seeing more patients coming in with symptoms of COVID-19. Jennifer Green, Cumberland County’s health director, said last Tuesday the county’s percentage of positive tests is up to 9 percent, a key metric that was 8 percent the week prior and 7 percent a few weeks ago.
Last week, Cumberland County Schools offered three options for parents and caregivers with children in school, and parents are supposed to make a choice by Sunday. There are two remote-learning options, one of which is a new K-12 virtual academy, and a third option that offers a mix of remote and in-person learning in small groups.
But the in-person option has already drawn skepticism from among two important constituencies - parents and teachers. The key difference is that parents can choose for their child only online instruction, if they feel conditions are not yet safe in school buildings. But at least some percentage of teachers, and maybe a significant number, will not have such an option, or so they believe.
In a recent interview with ABC-11, Donna Wiles, a math teacher at Reid Ross Classical High School, who watched Cumberland County Schools officials roll out the reopening plans in a virtual town hall, said: “They’re holding meetings on Zoom, telling us that it’s safe for us to enter the classroom with everyone’s children … I don’t think it’s sustainable, I don’t think it’s operational, and I don’t think it’s safe.”
More than 300 people have joined a private Facebook group, TeacherStrikeFayettevilleNC, which includes teachers, and whose mission statement says it is unsafe “to return to a physical classroom for face-to-face instruction for the 2020-2021 school year.” Site administrators say the school system has offered teachers the opportunity to apply for the virtual academy but says teachers are not guaranteed a position there. If they do not get chosen for the academy, they will be “forced” to return to the classroom or lose their jobs, the site administrators say.
“Many teachers, staff, and their families have underlying health conditions that make them extremely vulnerable to Covid-19,” the administrators write.
National statistics bear them out. One-in-four teachers are at increased risk of severe effects for COVID-19, according to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Schools spokesman Lindsay Whitley, forwarded a copy of the Facebook group’s mission statement, wrote the system would move forward with “the best interests of our staff and students in mind, doing all we can to keep everyone safe and healthy.”
He wrote: “As district officials prepare for reopening schools, several health and safety precautions are being put in place. Personal protective equipment (PPE) will be available, 6ft markings are being placed on floors and sidewalks, sneeze guards are being installed at reception areas, and masks will be required for students and staff … In preparation for any remote instruction, an additional 10,000 devices have been ordered.”
He said staff members with a condition identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as putting them at increased risk for COVID-19 could apply for “temporary accommodation.” He said each employee’s unique situation and special requests will be considered case-by-case.
He also noted that virus spread could change the county’s plans.
After Sunday, the school system will have an idea how many parents want their children to learn in-person. It will be one more data point school officials and the school board members will have as a factor for the big decisions they face. It is also possible, if not even probable, that Gov. Cooper will mandate online-learning only for all public schools - he left himself leeway for that option if the COVID-19 numbers worsen.
But whatever plans leaders choose, they are no doubt aware that in-person learning - already a complicated proposition - will not work without buy-in from school teachers on the front lines.
Online: https://www.fayobserver.com
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