North Carolina county urges governor to ease restrictions

Gaston county -- (AP) A North Carolina county issued a symbolic order Wednesday declaring support for reopening businesses while acknowledging its residents are still subject to the governor’s stay-home order meant to fight COVID-19.

The Gaston County Commission issued a statement that the county doesn’t need to be subjected to what it describes as a one-size-fits-all statewide stay-home order.

Gov. Roy Cooper’s stay-home order remains in effect through May 8 and will be followed by a multi-phased plan to ease restrictions on businesses.

The Gaston County Commission issued a “reopening order” saying businesses there are ready to reopen, even though no such reopenings can outpace the governor’s plan. The document makes clear that county residents remain subject to Cooper’s order despite any changes to the local order. The order symbolically took effect Wednesday.

“Why punish us for being successful in flattening the curve when a strict Stay at Home order no longer makes sense for our county?” County Commission Chairman Tracy Philbeck said in a statement.

A state tally shows Gaston County has had about 140 patients who tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic and three deaths. The county of about 224,000 people lies west of Charlotte along the South Carolina state line.

A spokesman for Cooper, Ford Porter, issued a statement emphasizing that the local order acknowledges that residents must continue to follow the statewide restrictions.

“While the commissioners’ statements are irresponsible, their order makes clear that the Governor’s Executive Order remains in effect,” Porter said. “The governor understands the eagerness to return to a new normal and has laid out a three-phase plan to ease restrictions and jumpstart the economy while protecting the health and safety of North Carolinians.”

Hundreds rallied Tuesday in downtown Raleigh demanding that the state economy reopen more quickly.

In response to calls to ease more business restrictions, Cooper said Tuesday at a news conference that he understands that people are out of work and “a lot of families are hanging by a thread,” which is why he’s pressing for unemployment benefits and loans for small businesses. But public health is first and foremost, he said.

As of Wednesday, state health officials reported nearly 10,000 confirmed cases statewide including about 550 hospitalizations. About 350 people have died.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, it can cause severe illness or even death.

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