NC hit a grim COVID-19 milestone. Here’s what needs to happen next.
North Carolina’s positive tests for COVID-19 have passed 100,000, a number unthinkable in March that became inevitable by July.
That relentless rise should shake up those who would ignore, downplay or wish away the pandemic. It’s not going away. At this level of spread, experts say, it’s just beginning.
With testing limited, the real number of infections is as much as 10 times the confirmed cases, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says, which means about 10 percent of the state’s 10.5 million people have been infected. The virus could infect hundreds of thousands more if North Carolina doesn’t step up efforts to slow it.
More than 143,000 in the U.S. have died from COVID-19 infections – more than 1,600 in North Carolina – and many thousands more have been or are hospitalized, some of them suffering long-term damage.
As the number of confirmed cases here reaches six digits, it’s time for North Carolina to take bolder steps. Start with the obvious — everybody should follow the governor’s order and wear a mask in enclosed public places. Mask wearing in the number one behavior that can help halt the spread of COVID-19.
Not all is known about how children get or give the virus. To protect children, their families and their teachers, all public schools in counties with high infection rates should open this fall with remote instruction.
There should be more extensive testing in all congregate living settings, from nursing homes to prisons, which have proven to be virus hot spots.
Devote more state resources to protecting Black and Hispanic workers, who account for a disproportionate share of infections and deaths, as more of them work in high-risk jobs that have been deemed essential. That should include a crackdown on dangerous working conditions at the state’s many meatpacking and poultry processing plants.
Most importantly, those who think economic needs should come ahead of public health should take a good look at 100,000 cases and concede to reality: The economy can’t be restored as long as the virus is coursing through the population.
Attempts to restore normalcy have instead fueled the spread and will bring only greater social disruption and economic pain over time. Chapel Hill, Raleigh, Charlotte and its surrounding towns are smart to ban late-night alcohol sales. It’s a sign of getting serious about those who would be foolish about spreading COVID-19.
One big player that can make that a concession to this reality is the University of North Carolina. The system’s campuses have compelling financial reasons to stay open, but they have to stay open safely. University leaders should listen to faculty members, students and families who are wary of the current plans and adjust to meet those concerns.
Republican lawmakers should switch from resisting restrictions to supporting what science says will work. One hundred thousand cases say the virus is here, it’s growing and only a broad and united effort can slow it. Opening bars, bowling alleys and any venue for large gatherings isn’t about economic revival. It’s about denial. Let’s agree on the threat and the response.
There will be a vaccine. It’s the only change that can fully bring back the economy. But we don’t know when it will arrive, or how effective it will be. Until then, North Carolina’s challenge is to not become Florida. That means not only avoiding early reopenings; it means preventative closings.
One in every ten North Carolinians may have already been infected, in part because the strongest attempts to stop the spread were too brief. The great majority of the state can yet be spared, but that will require that a great majority accept what 100,000 cases is telling them.
This story was originally published July 21, 2020 at 3:02 PM.