Cooper extends ‘Safer at Home’ 5 weeks

Published On: August 5, 2020

GOV. ROY COOPER

Aug. 5. By Dave Yochum. Saying the current promising state of the COVID-19 outbreak is fragile, Gov. Roy Cooper has extended “Safer at Home” by five more weeks.

It means restrictions around gatherings, retail stores, restaurants and other businesses will be in place through the Labor Day weekend.

Cooper has kept restrictions in place longer twice before.

The state has been in Phase Two of COVID-19 restrictions on business and leisure activity since May 22. Restaurant dining rooms are allowed to open at half occupancy, as well as barbershops, salons and tattoo parlors.

Cooper said returning “kids safely to class depends on what works.”

Doubling down on restrictions has been working, he said, in light of better COVID-19 data coming out of the NC Dept. of Health & Human Services. Cooper added that there has been a direct correlation between the face mask mandate and improvements in COVID-19 data.

The state’s median number of new COVID-19 cases over the past seven days is now 7.6 percent lower than the previous 30-day median. The difference in the medians—1,849 per day since July 5 vs. 1,708 in the past week—reflects data collected by Johns Hopkins University.

“It’s time to double down…the better off our economy and people will be,” he said.

Extending Safer at Home means bars, gyms and entertainment venues remain closed until Sept. 11.

21 Comments

  1. Ken August 5, 2020 at 4:43 pm

    Good for Gov. Cooper. He cares about us.

    • Janet Watson August 6, 2020 at 3:50 pm

      He needs to cancel school opening day and reopen in September or until our kids can go back to their school campus for instructional, hands on learning!! Virtual FAILED, leaving our kids with the option of pass/fail or receive a grade! How many chose pass or failed option last year? What is that number? I bet it’s high because virtual learning and the students failed miserably! They are at home unattended because their parents are at work, and what parent has the time to be the force of homework and to be an instructor for their child’s continuing education after they get home from work? Cancel school until it’s safe for our children to return to their classrooms!! If not, maybe our kids can play hooky until they can return to their classrooms! Because plan B and plan C are recipes for failure and is certainly not setting them up for success!! The Governor needs to really think about this!! There are so many kids right now as well as parents, going through so much anxiety right now because we are being forced into online education and knowing that there will be great struggle and strife in participating in virtual learning! Kids knowing they failed last year and will again this year!! Imagine a teenager looking at failure in the face!! That certainly does a lot for their confidence and their esteem! Just cancel school until they can return to their classrooms!!! Stop putting our kids through all this undue mental anguish!!

      • Kevin G August 7, 2020 at 6:34 am

        I have to agree. Virtual learning dies zilch. I employ high schoolers in my business and they will br the first to tell you that virtual learning is not teaching them anything. We are teaching an entire nation of kids NOTHING.

    • Stephanie Brown August 7, 2020 at 1:42 am

      What about essential jobs. Do they still can continuing go to work everyday?.

    • Greg August 7, 2020 at 4:06 am

      Governor Cooper hides behind skewed statistics and says the data shows this and the data shows that. There are so many things that are not being looked at and that the data is not showing. The mental health and substance use repercussions of poor decision making are going to far out weigh the deaths from this virus. Poor form Governor. Look at the whole picture and stop focusing on flattening your curve. The only data you should be worried with now is Dan Forrest’s margin of victory.

  2. Jeremy C Yarbrough August 6, 2020 at 10:43 am

    At least Gov. Cooper is trying to keep people safe. Though we all know that stupid people are going to ruin it again. Cornelius PD won’t enforce it on land or on lake. Cowards.

    • J.A August 6, 2020 at 1:09 pm

      In Mooresville there are boatloads of people going up and down the coves. Congregating on people’s docks and nothing is being enforced.

  3. Tom August 6, 2020 at 11:08 am

    A true leader looks beyond just the immediate issue and he is not doing that. There are substantial negative impacts bigger than the virus now

    • Wanda Smith August 7, 2020 at 7:22 am

      Are you kidding me??

  4. Craig Borst August 6, 2020 at 2:44 pm

    No matter what these unconstutional governers do, they will not accomplish mail-in voting. Sorry, your days are numbered.

    • Sally August 7, 2020 at 8:04 am

      Nah….Democrats will still show up at the polls, even if we have to walk on glass. Especially this year.

  5. Sara August 6, 2020 at 4:37 pm

    Terrible governer. Killing North Carolina’s small businesses

  6. Nicola August 6, 2020 at 9:33 pm

    It’s unfortunate that people are blinded by the limited information they receive. Governor Cooper is not keeping the residents of North Carolina safe. He is not looking at facts or science but arbitrarily deciding what is important and what is not. The financial, educational and social implications of his decision will set back this state decades. Luckily for him and his peers in the government, he is still employed, paid at his full salary and will get his benefits when he loses the election in November.

  7. You suck as a parent August 6, 2020 at 9:44 pm

    So sorry you depend on the public school system to broaden your child’s horizon but the governor never asked you to have children you weren’t prepared to teach. The public school system isn’t a daycare you should have helped your child/children gain the knowledge they needed to obtain that passing grade with pride ( on both ends if you ask me). If you’re child is suffering from self esteem issues you may want to consider therapy where you & your spouse become #1 to blame.

  8. Homer August 7, 2020 at 1:16 am

    I hope and pray that Our Veterans and Their Families DO NOT vote for him since he has screwed pver our VFW, AMVETS, and American Legions.

  9. AMELIA GEORGE August 7, 2020 at 4:56 am

    Governor Cooper, I commend you for caring about the safety of our children and our families. Continue to stand strong in truth as God and his vessels are standing with you.

  10. Deborah Green August 7, 2020 at 6:59 am

    How are you going to throw children directly in harm’s way!you are playing Russian roulette with children lives sending them back in classrooms and you know it…protect the alcoholic but not innocent children…what are you thinking?

  11. Mitch August 7, 2020 at 7:21 am

    Hey, I applaud Gov. Cooper in all his efforts to keeping us safe

  12. Wanda Smith August 7, 2020 at 7:28 am

    People who will not adhere to the very easy rules of wear a mask, social distance,and wash your hands remind me of children in school who kept the rest of inside when it was time to go out and relax and chill. Is it because they just want and like the attention like those problem children?? Seems like it is.

  13. Seretha August 7, 2020 at 8:15 am

    How is it possible to keep our children safe? Please dont put them in DANGER. KEEP SCHOOLS CLOSED until the doctors and scientist say it’s ok for teachers/students

  14. Lisa S Nelson August 7, 2020 at 9:52 am

    We need to go back to phase 1 lock it down people are not taking it seriously

Comments are closed.

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