Once again, JLF’s Becki Gray made her regular appearance on North Carolina Public Radio with WUNC Politics host Jeff Tiberii. Joining Gray and Tiberii was Rob Schofield from the N.C. Justice Center. Together, the three discussed phase two of reopening, the General Assembly’s remote session, and the chemical manufacturer Chemours’ chemical discharge into the Cape Fear River.
Tiberii started the conversation by getting the opinions of Gray and Schofield on Gov. Cooper’s announcement of phase two of reopening.
Schofield shared his concerns that reopening has begun too early. He stated:
I pray that this isn’t going to cause a huge new spike, but I am very worried that we are moving too quickly to re-open something that we should be taking more time to do. I think we already see a lot of people voting with their feet. A lot of people and a lot of restaurants are not going to go down this road. They are not going to put their customers and employees at risk. We have local communities for instance Durham saying “no-no not yet.”
Gray shared her concerns as well, sharing her concerns for the business owners whose families, employees, and communities will suffer the longer they cannot be in business. Gray said:
I’m worried too. I’m worried about all the businesses the gyms that can’t open, the bars that are not going to reopen, the breweries and distilleries all of the businesses that still can’t open at all for at least five weeks…
I’m worried about the million people that are unemployed. I am worried about the economy getting back on its feet. I’m worried about the health of a lot of people who are putting off going to the doctor, [putting off] getting diagnostic tests, and putting off routine medical care. As we are seeing in other states it can be done safely and North Carolina should move forward with some real clear direction…
I am not suggesting that we move recklessly. I am suggesting that we move cautiously.
Listen to the full episode of WUNC’s Politics podcast here. Follow Becki Gray on Twitter: @beckigray.
