{"id":284,"date":"2020-04-16T15:56:54","date_gmt":"2020-04-16T19:56:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/?p=284"},"modified":"2020-04-16T16:08:58","modified_gmt":"2020-04-16T20:08:58","slug":"how-does-charlotte-reopen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/how-does-charlotte-reopen\/","title":{"rendered":"How Does Charlotte Reopen?"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_294\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-294\" style=\"width: 2400px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-294\" src=\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IP-stonecrest.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2400\" height=\"1800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IP-stonecrest.jpg 2400w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IP-stonecrest-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IP-stonecrest-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IP-stonecrest-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IP-stonecrest-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IP-stonecrest-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IP-stonecrest-360x270.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2400px) 100vw, 2400px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-294\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The parking lot of a movie theater in south Charlotte sits empty during coronavirus restrictions.<br \/>STEVE HARRISON\/WFAE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-284-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/wfae@wfae-od.streamguys1.com\/ip\/InsidePolitics041620.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/wfae@wfae-od.streamguys1.com\/ip\/InsidePolitics041620.mp3\">https:\/\/wfae@wfae-od.streamguys1.com\/ip\/InsidePolitics041620.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The country \u2013 and North Carolina \u2013 is talking about reopening.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">But what will that look like? And how will we know it\u2019s safe to reopen?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cWe need to try to find an appropriate balance. And it often seems like we&#8217;re stuck between a rock and a hard place,\u201d said Jeffrey Shaman, an epidemiologist with Columbia University. \u201cWith a rock, it\u2019s lots of people infected and overburdened, collapsing health care system and many, many people dying versus economic destitution, high unemployment, and an economy that might not be able to recover for years from the shocks that we impose on it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">There is national tension over reopening, as a coalition of mostly Democratic governors on the east and west coasts are forming coalitions to write their own rules about how and when to re-start their economies.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">That\u2019s also playing out in North Carolina. A group in Raleigh &#8211; Reopen NC &#8211; protested this week. Police broke up the protest and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/raleighpolice\/status\/1250095083287961600\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">tweeted<\/a> it was a \u201cnonessential activity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Protesting is a non-essential activity.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Raleigh Police (@raleighpolice) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/raleighpolice\/status\/1250111779574894594?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 14, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">And the Republican chair of the Gaston County Commission, Tracy Philbeck, wrote Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper last week, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wfae.org\/post\/gaston-county-cooper-end-stay-home-order-may\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">urging him not to extend the statewide stay-at-home order<\/a> that expires in less than two weeks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_293\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-293\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-293 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IP-airport-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IP-airport-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IP-airport-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IP-airport-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IP-airport-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IP-airport-360x270.jpg 360w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IP-airport.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-293\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Charlotte has one of the busiest airports in the country \u2014 but not during the coronavirus pandemic.<br \/>STEVE HARRISON\/WFAE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">He wants Gaston to make its own social distancing rules.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cIt is my thought that instead of the state being led by Charlotte, Wake, Raleigh and Durham, where you have these epicenters, or these large spikes,\u201d Philbeck said. \u201cYou can\u2019t treat Charlotte like you treat Cleveland County.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">But across the Catawba River, Mecklenburg County \u2013 which has all Democrats on its commission \u2013 isn\u2019t calling for relaxing the stay-at-home order. There has been little talk about reopening.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cFrom everything that I know and that I see, I don\u2019t think I would be willing to take that chance,\u201d said Commissioner Mark Jerrell. \u201cWe\u2019d look really crazy if we lift that stay-at-home order too early, and then you see a spike. How will people gauge our judgment?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">What Do The Current Models Say?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The University of Washington\u2019s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation predicts North Carolina\u2019s hospitals will be most stressed on Friday April 17. The model projects the state will have more than enough hospital beds and ventilators to meet the demand. The IHME model has varied widely over the last month, with the projected national death tolls being lowered significantly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Other models are grimmer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Last week, a group of public health experts and epidemiologists from the public and private sector in North Carolina painted a much bleaker picture. They forecast 250,000 total infections statewide by June 1 \u2013 even with social distancing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">And on Tuesday, Mecklenburg Health Director Gibbie Harris said the county\u2019s own, different model from the University of Pennsylvania shows the peak will be on June 8. And Harris said that model shows that Mecklenburg hospitals won\u2019t have enough beds and ventilators to handle that projected surge.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">But there are questions about both models.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The 250,000 projection is based on the number of cases in the state growing by 8% every day for two months.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">That happened at the start of the outbreak. But in North Carolina \u2013 and in most states and counties that enacted social distancing \u2013 that growth rate has been lowered substantially.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Mecklenburg\u2019s cases are now growing at around 2% and 3% a day, and the state\u2019s growth in cases has been below 8% since April 11.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The most recent county projection, discussed by Mecklenburg health director Gibbie Harris on Tuesday, projects that Mecklenburg cases will reach roughly 2,100 cases by April 25. To reach that number of infections, the county would have to add between 90 and 100 new known cases a day \u2013 something that\u2019s never happened during the pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">And while Harris said the hospitals could be overwhelmed by June, Atrium and Novant said this week that they don\u2019t need a 600-bed field hospital.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Is Contact Tracing The Key?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Despite the dire warning about hospitals being overwhelmed in June, Mecklenburg County Manager Dena Diorio said this week that it\u2019s not \u201crealistic\u201d to expect the current stay-at-home order to continue that long.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">And Gov. Roy Cooper <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wfae.org\/post\/cooper-progress-needed-nc-coronavirus-restrictions-eased#stream\/0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said this week that the state\u2019s reopening would happen slowly<\/a> \u2014 in stages. And Cooper said the state needs to be able to expand its ability to do contact tracing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Contact tracing means local health departments attempt to recreate the contacts of an infected person over their last two weeks. Investigators then find those people and test them for COVID-19.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Lee Riley, an epidemiologist at the University of California Berkeley, said that expanded contact tracing should start immediately.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_287\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-287\" style=\"width: 209px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-287\" src=\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/riley-209x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"209\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/riley-209x300.png 209w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/riley-188x270.png 188w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/riley.png 468w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 209px) 100vw, 209px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-287\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lee Riley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cIf we are continuing to see new cases, then we need to know who these people are,\u201d he said. \u201cAre they just not following these directives? Or are they occurring in households, where a member may be a first responder or involved in work that involves close contact? Or are these cases in certain neighborhoods where the message has been sent or publicized?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Riley said that it\u2019s been three weeks since Mecklenburg\u2019s stay-at-home order, so the source of new infections should be easier to find.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Harris, the Mecklenburg health director, said her office has long performed contact tracing for communicable diseases. She said the county has continued to do that for COVID-19, though she said, with the high number of cases, it\u2019s been \u201cstreamlined.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">All interviews are done over the phone, she said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cAt one point the state even said to us, \u2018We know that you aren\u2019t going to be able to do much at all,\u2019 \u201d Harris said. \u201cBut our staff has continued to do the kind of contact tracing we need to do, especially for high-risk individuals.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">When Harris says high-risk individuals, she means the elderly or people with underlying health conditions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cIf an individual went to the grocery store, we are not following up with everyone they may have contacted with, that they may have walked by in the grocery store,\u201d Harris said. \u201cBut if they were in a work environment, or another environment where they could have potentially exposed people, that\u2019s what we focus on.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Both Riley and Shaman said the local health departments need to go deeper. They said there needs to be an effort to track down all contacts, such as grocery store clerks or someone who delivered a person takeout from a restaurant.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Riley said that should be easier \u2013 in theory \u2013 because Mecklenburg residents have been under a stay-at-home order. That means they should have fewer contacts than they would have ordinarily.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Shaman said the U.S. should consider doing contact tracing as South Korea has done it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The country is adding only about 30 new cases a day in a country of 51 million people<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cI would argue, even though it&#8217;s a bit invasive and flies in the face of what we think of in terms of civil liberties, of going into people&#8217;s credit cards, when they&#8217;re found to be positive, they&#8217;re going into their phones, and they&#8217;re finding out where they went,\u201d Shaman said. \u201cAnd they&#8217;re identifying their contacts based on that. And they&#8217;re finding those contacts, and they&#8217;re testing and isolating them as well. It seems to be able to keep this thing in check.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Shaman said South Korea should be copied, but he acknowledged there are challenges.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cThere is a logistical issue associated with it, which is not just personnel,&#8221; he said. &#8220;You have to have the testing capacity and you have to have the laboratory capacity to turn this around. And you would prefer to have a sensitive and specific test with a very rapid turnaround within a few hours.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_292\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-292\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-292\" src=\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IP-harris-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IP-harris-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IP-harris-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IP-harris-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IP-harris-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IP-harris-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IP-harris-360x270.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-292\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mecklenburg County Public Health Director Gibbie Harris gives an update on the coronavirus in this file photo.<br \/>STEVE HARRISON\/WFAE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In Mecklenburg County, Harris said the health department has seven communicable disease nurses who do contact tracing. Harris is also training some school nurses to do investigations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">And Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the federal government has 600 people now helping states with contact tracing, but he said it will have to \u201camplify\u201d that number.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">But Riley says counties need to act on their own and hire and train more investigators right away.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cWe have all these unemployed people,\u201d he said. \u201cThey could be trained to be public health workers to do contact tracing.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Harris is skeptical of that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cIn theory, that\u2019s a wonderful idea,\u201d she said. \u201cIn practice, it\u2019s very challenging, because it\u2019s complicated work. These are investigators. It\u2019s not just a set of questions that you can run down and collect the information. They really have to dig in and sometimes ask the next question and the next question to get to the answers that we\u2019re looking for.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Mecklenburg and other health departments are also handicapped by not having enough test kits to determine people who have been in contact with an infected person are positive.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">But Shaman said that there are still benefits of extensive contact tracing even without having robust testing. People could be asked to self-quarantine, he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Immunity Passport?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In hard-hit places like Italy and New York City \u2013 where more than 1% of the population has tested positive for COVID-19 \u2013 some people have discussed separating people into two groups: those who have been infected with the coronavirus and those who haven\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In addition to testing for the active virus, there are antibody tests that can show if someone has been infected with the coronavirus. The idea is that there are hundreds of thousands of people who had COVID-19 but had mild symptoms or were asymptomatic and antibody tests would identify them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">That would allow those people to return to work \u2014 or work in high-risk areas.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">But Riley doesn\u2019t think there have been nearly enough infections in North Carolina \u2013 even asymptomatic ones \u2013 for that to work.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cEven though we\u2019re seeing a lot of cases, I would say it\u2019s maybe 5% to 10% in any region (of people who have been exposed to the coronavirus), and where you are (in North Carolina), maybe lower. That\u2019s a small percentage who can go back.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">He also said it\u2019s unknown how long people are immune.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cWe don\u2019t even know that because you have antibody you are protected,\u201d Riley said. \u201cHIV is an example. People have an antibody against HIV, but they aren\u2019t immune from progressing to active disease and getting secondary diseases. That\u2019s true with influenza. That\u2019s why we need to get a new flu shot with a new vaccine each year.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Wake Forest Baptist Health <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wfae.org\/post\/wake-forest-launches-nc-coronavirus-study#stream\/0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said this week it will begin a yearlong random sample<\/a> of 1,000 of its patients looking for coronavirus antibodies \u2014 an attempt to get a sense of how widespread the virus is and was in North Carolina. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wfae.org\/post\/phil-berger-wants-randomized-testing-covid-19-guide-decisions-closures\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">That\u2019s a priority of Republican Senate leader Phil Berger<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Can Charlotte Learn From Other States With Less Restrictions?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In Arkansas, Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson is one of seven governors nationwide who hasn\u2019t issued a stay-at-home order.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">But Arkansas still has severe restrictions. School is closed. Gatherings are capped at 10 people. Bars and restaurants are closed. And the state is encouraging the use of masks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Arkansas has about 1,500 confirmed cases, and its trajectory looks a lot like Mecklenburg County. For the last week, Arkansas has been in the single digits in terms of percentage growth, adding 20 or 30 new cases a day.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">And while Arkansas is a low-density state &#8211; North Carolina has four times as many people per square mile \u2013 Shaman said it\u2019s worth studying.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_288\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-288\" style=\"width: 193px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-288\" src=\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/shaman-193x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"193\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/shaman-193x300.png 193w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/shaman-173x270.png 173w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/shaman.png 269w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 193px) 100vw, 193px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-288\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jeff Shaman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cAbsolutely, there absolutely is a benefit,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat we&#8217;re seeing because we have such a patchwork of responses within this country, as well as internationally, is a natural experiment. So it&#8217;s showing us what happens in different societies with different intervention approaches.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Shaman added that we are most focusing on places that have been successful in fighting COVID-19, like Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong. But he said we should study countries like Sweden that have taken a relaxed approach.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think there are places internationally that are going to be very revealing about this,\u201d he said. \u201cThere&#8217;s been a lot of news about how Sweden has not imposed nearly the level of interventions that Norway has or Denmark has, and seeing the contrast or the differences that manifest in those countries&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt will be very revealing as to what is successful and what isn&#8217;t,\u201d he said. \u201cHow much we need to compromise our normal economy to stop this virus?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Can The Republican National Convention Move Forward?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In North Carolina, Gov. Cooper said this week that restrictions would be relaxed slowly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Shaman and Riley said things should open in stages, in two- or three-week increments. That\u2019s of course because the virus has that long of an incubation period, so it will take that long to see the impact of allowing people more freedom to move.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">But Shaman doesn\u2019t see large groups of people congregating anytime soon.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cI don&#8217;t see a radical reopening of schools and just saying, alright, let&#8217;s reopen schools and see what happens,\u201d he said. \u201cI think that&#8217;s too much mixing.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In Charlotte, there is of course one large gathering in four months: The Republican National Convention.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In a conference call with reporters Wednesday, Marcia Lee Kelly, the CEO of the convention, said the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wfae.org\/post\/gop-says-rnc-delegates-could-wear-masks-practice-social-distancing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GOP is moving \u201cfull-speed\u201d ahead<\/a> with planning for the event. But she said public health is the top priority, and she said people inside the Spectrum Center could be wearing masks and practicing social distancing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cWe have a beautiful arena. It&#8217;s an intimate arena,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cAnd I&#8217;m very happy about playing Tetris with the seats, or whether it&#8217;s social distancing, or whether it&#8217;s everyone having to wear a mask.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Shaman said a traditional convention inside the Spectrum Center would be a problem.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cI think it&#8217;s a very bad idea,\u201d he said. \u201cI think bringing that number of people together when we&#8217;ve had many examples of super spreading happening at mass gatherings is just not a smart thing to do right now. As long as we have a substantial portion of the population that\u2019s still susceptible to this virus, those susceptible persons are basically tinder.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/how-to-listen\/\">Click\u00a0here<\/a> to subscribe to the Inside Politics podcast (and to give the podcast a rating\/review in your favorite podcast app).<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Want more? You can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wfae.org\/newsletters-0#stream\/1\">sign up here<\/a> for our weekly Inside Politics newsletter, written by Steve Harrison.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Have a question about the 2020 RNC in Charlotte? Ask us below. <\/em><br \/>\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/modules.wearehearken.com\/wfae\/embed\/4617.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The country \u2013 and North Carolina \u2013 is talking about reopening. But what will that look like? And how will we know it\u2019s safe to reopen?\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-podcast"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How Does Charlotte Reopen? : Inside Politics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/how-does-charlotte-reopen\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Does Charlotte Reopen? : Inside Politics\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The country \u2013 and North Carolina \u2013 is talking about reopening. 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