Governor Roy Cooper has ordered all people in the state of North Carolina to stay at home for 30 days—until April 29—starting Monday at 5 p.m., in order to prevent the spread of the highly contagious COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2.
Like Dare County’s “Stay Home-Stay Healthy” declaration issued earlier today, the Governor’s Executive Order No. 121 provides for people to leave home and travel only for essential activities; for essential businesses to continue to operate; for mass gatherings to be limited to 10 people; and for the strict observation of physical (social) distancing by people when they are using shared or outdoor spaces away from their residences.
Because they are time-sensitive, funerals are not subject to the 10-person restriction on mass gatherings. Fifty people may attend a funeral, and they should practice physical distancing.
The Beacon prefers the term, physical distancing, which public-health scientists endorse, to social distancing. Both refer to a person not standing any closer than six feet to another person.
“To continue our aggressive battle against COVID-19, I have signed a Stay at Home Order for the entire state of North Carolina,” the Governor said in a press release.
“Though it is difficult we must do this to slow the disease spread. We need our medical system to be able to care for the friends and family we know will become seriously ill from the virus.”
The Governor said three North Carolinians have died as a result of COVID-19, and the state currently has 763 confirmed COVID-19 cases in 60 of its 100 counties. North Carolina is considered to have widespread community transmission of the virus, meaning many people who test positive for it cannot trace the source of their infection.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported today a total of 85,356 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 1,246 deaths.
Until your exemption is reviewed, you may operate your business as long as you can accommodate physical distancing in your workplace.
Executive Order No. 121 is valid for 30 days, but it can be revised or extended.
Governor Cooper is seeking voluntary cooperation from all state residents and businesses. If this cooperation is not achieved, state and local law enforcement officers have the authority to enforce the order.
You are allowed to go to the beach under the emergency ‘Stay Home-Stay Healthy’ order, but you must maintain physical distancing of six feet with others you encounter.
Dare County issued a “Stay Home-Stay Healthy” directive today to all residents and all other people authorized to be in Dare County that will go into effect tomorrow at 5 p.m. Its primary intent is to limit people’s movements outside of their homes, to only essential tasks and travel, but it also limits gatherings to no more than 10 people and broadly defines businesses and service providers considered to be essential.
This action is being taken as a result of State health officials having shifted this week into a mitigation strategy to combat the COVID-19 outbreak. (See The Beacon, 3/27/20.)
By curtailing people’s movements, the County seeks to minimize opportunities for people to be exposed to the new coronavirus, as well as to transmit it.
According to the ‘Stay Home-Stay Healthy’ declaration, people who are authorized to be in Dare County may:
*Go to the grocery store, a convenience store, or a gas station
*Go to a pharmacy to pick up medications and healthcare necessities
*Visit a health care facility for medical services (Please call your healthcare provider first to see if services can be provided virtually prior to visiting.)
*Go to a restaurant for take-out or drive-thru service (delivery is allowed)
*Care for or support a friend, family member, or pet
*Go outside to take a walk, go to the beach, go for a bike ride, hike, and job, provided physical distancing of six feet is maintained
*Help others get necessary supplies
*Receive deliveries
You may not:
*Go outside of your home if you are sick
*Travel, except for essential travel and activities
*Go to work, unless you are providing essential services
*Gather in groups of more than 10 people
*Be closer than six feet from others when you are out in public
*Visit friends and family if you have no specific, urgent need to do so
*Visit loved ones in a hospital, nursing home, a skilled nursing facility, or other residential care facility, except for limited exceptions as provided by the specific facility
In general, activities considered essential are those done:
*To further health and safety
*To get necessary supplies and services
*To engage in outdoor activities
*To work for essential businesses/operations
*To take care of others in need
The entry restrictions for non-resident property owners and visitors remain in place, and there are no restrictions on leaving Dare County.
People who do not live in Dare County may be authorized to be here if they are engaging in “essential travel,” such as traveling to care for elders, minors, dependents, persons with disabilities, or other “vulnerable persons” or traveling for the purpose of providing essential activities, such as essential government functions or essential businesses and operations.
The declaration defines in detail those businesses that are considered essential. Among them are businesses that provide “essential services necessary to maintain essential operations of residences or other essential businesses.”
People who are property managers, contractors, subcontractors, landscapers, plumbers, electricians, and exterminators, among others, are considered to be providing essential services. So are legal, engineering, architectural, or accounting professionals.
It also elaborates upon essential healthcare operations, essential government functions, essential critical infrastructure, essential retail, and more.
In yesterday’s blog, The Beacon brought up the enforcement of, and possible criminal penalties for violating, similar “stay-at-home” orders imposed in other N.C. counties and towns. In Dare County, law enforcement agencies are being asked to enforce the order first through “education, dialogue, and seeking voluntary cooperation.”
If local law enforcement officers cannot achieve voluntary cooperation, they may enforce the order through citations or misdemeanor charges. A violation of any of the restrictions and prohibitions imposed under today’s emergency declaration is punishable as a Class 2 misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of 60 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
The Beacon is not surprised by this order, in light of the changes it discussed in yesterday’s post about COVID-19 prevention strategy and criteria for determining whom to test for the virus. In fact, we would be surprised if Governor Roy Cooper does not take statewide action later today or over the weekend.
IN OTHER NEWS
STATE, COUNTY, MULTI-TOWN RECYCLING MEETING POSTPONED: A meeting to be held electronically on Monday, March 30, among N.C. environmental officials, Dare County and town officials, and some industry representatives, to discuss local recycling options in light of TFC’s refusal to accept Outer Banks recycling at its Chesapeake facility has been postponed.
According to Sandy Skolochenko, a Community Development Specialist with the N.C. Dept. of Environmental Quality, Nags Head Town Manager Cliff Ogburn, who is organizing the meeting, is exploring a “Webinar-based meeting” for some time in April.
The NC DEQ has granted Bay Disposal & Recycling a temporary exemption that enables the Powells Point-based collector to haul loads of recyclables to an incinerator in Portsmouth. This exemption expires April 15.
DON’T FORGET: The bulk-trash collection scheduled for April 3 has been postponed.
An increasing number of counties and towns across North Carolina are issuing stay-at-home orders in response to State health officials’ shift this week away from tracking only lab-confirmed cases to assess the spread of COVID-19 into implementing a community mitigation strategy to slow the outbreak—a strategy that has resulted in a major change in testing criteria.
“The case counts that we get are not a great marker for how fast this is accelerating or what the true burden of COVID-19 is out there in the community,” State Epidemiologist Zack Moore said, according to a report yesterday by The News & Observer.
Both the N.C. Healthcare Assn., which has 130 hospital members, and the N.C. Nurses Assn. have asked N.C. Governor Roy Cooper to issue a statewide shelter-in-place order so that hospitals can keep up with the growing number of COVID-19 patients and not be depleted of necessary supplies and beds.
Although Governor Cooper has indicated in recent remarks that he soon will be issuing more restrictions, he has not announced a statewide shelter-in-place order yet.
Directed by Dr. Moore, the N.C. Dept. of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) has significantly changed its COVID-19 testing recommendations, in accordance with guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Whereas previously the NCDHHS had advised clinicians to test patients for the respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, if they had a fever, a negative flu test, and a cough OR shortness of breath, it is now advising them to test only those patients who have a fever, a negative flu test, a cough, AND shortness of breath or another severe symptom such as chest discomfort, difficulty breathing, altered thinking, or cyanosis.
The change in testing criteria is intended to reduce the community spread of the illness—which is furthered when infected people go out to be tested—and to protect people from being exposed to the coronavirus when seeking testing, especially in healthcare settings.
It is also designed to preserve Personal Protective Equipment and supplies needed for outbreaks in high-risk settings, to protect frontline healthcare and emergency personnel, and to care for people with the more severe symptoms.
North Carolina has the same critical shortage as the rest of the nation in test kits, necessary components for testing such as swabs, and the masks, gowns, and gloves that healthcare workers must wear when they perform the tests.
With the demand for testing outpacing its supply, the CDC has altered the criteria for testing to reduce the demand and conserve medical supplies and capacity so that healthcare workers can care for people who most need medical attention.
State Senator Jeff Jackson of Mecklenburg County, which accounts for 25 percent of all of the confirmed COVID-19 cases in North Carolina, has been issuing regular updates during the pandemic crisis. In an afternoon email today, he gave context to the testing change, saying:
“[It] means if you’re a middle-aged, reasonably healthy person and you develop mild, flu-like symptoms and think you may be infected, the new guidance is to call your doctor, at which point your doctor will likely tell you to assume you’re infected and self-quarantine until you’ve been fever-free for three days (unless your condition worsens, in which case call your doctor again).”
The NCDHHS is also urging clinicians to use telehealth/televideo and telephone triage to assess patients with respiratory illness.
Both NCDHHS and the CDC have posted online “what to do if you feel sick” fact sheets:
The shift in testing places even more importance on social or physical distancing, which is why counties (Mecklenburg, Wake, Orange, Pitt, Buncombe) and towns (Winston-Salem, Clemmons, Beaufort) are ordering people to stay home.
Such orders generally require people to leave their own property only to perform essential tasks, keep essential appointments, and pick up essential supplies. Some of the businesses that are considered essential service providers include grocery stores, pharmacies, auto-repair shops, banks, legal advisers, and laundromats. (Last we checked, the ABC Stores were still open.)
Stay-at-home orders give law enforcement officers authority they currently lack now in counties, cities, and towns where residents have been asked to comply voluntarily with physical distancing. In Mecklenburg County, for example, police may arrest people who violate the order and charge them with a misdemeanor. (The Beacon does not know if imposing criminal consequences for violation of these orders is standard or not. We would speculate that it is.)
IN OTHER NEWS: The White House has granted Governor Cooper’s request for a federal disaster declaration for the COVID-19 pandemic in North Carolina. This declaration enables local governments, state agencies, and eligible non-profits to be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for costs related to their response to the outbreak.
A test kit for COVID-19 prepared by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (photo courtesy of CDC)
N.C. government officials and tourism-related industry group leaders will host a webinar today, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., to inform businesses on the latest news and resources pertinent to the travel and tourism, hotel, and restaurant industries during the COVID-19 emergency.
The topics and speakers include:
*Overview of the N.C. economy, by N.C. Secretary of Commerce Anthony Copeland;
*State of the N.C. tourism industry, by Wit Tuttell, an executive with the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina;
*Rules and regulations regarding restaurants and lodging, by Lynn Minges, president and CEO of the N.C. Restaurant and Lodging Assn.;
*Financial assistance available for N.C. businesses, by John Loyack, also with the EDPNC;
*Unemployment and re-employment news for N.C., by Secretary Copeland.
BREAKING NEWS: The Dare County Dept. of Public Health announced its first positive COVID-19 test this morning and said the infected person is self-isolating and doing well.
The person is believed to have acquired the virus through travel or direct contact, not through community spread, according to Dr. Sheila Davies, director of the Dare County Dept. of Health and Human Resources.
Wavy.com reported that the person did not use a Dare County address when tested.
The case will not be included in the case count updated daily online by the N.C. Dept. of Health and Human Services.
One person was from Cabarrus County, which is near Charlotte. The other was described as being from Virginia and traveling through North Carolina. The Cabarrus County resident was reportedly in his/her late 70s and had multiple underlying medical problems.
Mecklenburg County, in which Charlotte is located, announced a stay-at-home order yesterday that will go into effect tomorrow at 8 a.m. and stay in effect until at least midnight on April 16, according to N.C. State Sen. Jeff Jackson, who represents Mecklenburg.
ABOUT TOWN
The previously scheduled April 3 bulk-waste collection in Southern Shores has been postponed, according to an announcement on the Town website.
The Town also has updated its list of “Town Operations and Meetings” to specify that the next Town Council meeting will be held April 7, but the date is “subject to change.”
DARE COUNTY AND STATE RESOURCES
Dare County Emergency Management issued a COVID-19 bulletin yesterday that was chock-full of potentially useful state and local information for small businesspeople, parents of young children, and anyone else needing assistance during the coronavirus crisis. But you have to click on a link to access it.
Many of you may already be taking advantage of these resources because most were previously announced. Undeterred by the risk of redundancy, however, The Beacon offers the following highlights to facilitate online searching:
Businesses and Employees
The Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina has compiled a list of extensive resources, both state and federal, that are available to assist businesses and employees through the pandemic. See https://edpnc.com/nc-business-relief-resources-covid-19/.
All Dare County children up to the age of 18 can receive breakfast and lunch at no cost, Monday through Friday, at area locations, including the Kitty Hawk Elementary School.
Breakfast is served from 7:45 a.m. to 8:45 a.m., and lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The main meal site locations are Manteo, First Flight, and Cape Hatteras elementary schools. But there also are community locations, the closest of which for Southern Shores residents are the KHES, Daniels Home Import, and the Belk Center in Kill Devil Hills.
Many area utilities are making payment and late-fee exceptions during the crisis.
Dominion Energy has announced that it will not shut off power due to nonpayment, and it will reconnect service for residential customers whose services were shut off. If you are facing financial difficulties, you may be eligible for short-term payment extensions, long-term payment assistance, or energy assistance. Contact Dominion Energy.
Spectrum has announced that it will not terminate service for 60 days (March 16-May 16) for residential or small business customers who face difficult economic circumstances. It also will not charge late fees to those customers facing COVID-19-relatd difficulties.
Free Spectrum broadband and Wi-Fi access is available for the same 60 days to households with K-12 and/or college students who do not already have a Spectrum broadband subscription at any service level up to 100 Mbps. To enroll, call 844-488-8395. Installation fees will be waived for new student households.
Verizon is also waiving late fees from March 16 to May 16, and will not terminate the service of a customer who has been adversely affected by events involving the coronavirus. Customers experiencing a hardship should call the Verizon customer service team to discuss their situation and available options.
CenturyLink, too, is waiving late fees and not terminating residential or small business customers’ service due to COVID-19 financial circumstances. It is also suspending data usage limits for consumer customers during this time period.
Refunds Due Vacation Home Renters
The N.C. Real Estate Commission has determined that landlords and brokers must refund all monies paid by vacation property tenants for rental weeks affected by the closure of access to the Outer Banks.
Advised by the N.C. Attorney General’s Office, the Commission has interpreted the N.C. Vacation Rental Act to require landlords and brokers to refund all tenant monies when “access to [a vacation] property cannot be provided.”
The Commission states: “In those instances where the real estate broker may have legally disbursed up to fifty percent of the rent received to the owner as provided [by the Vacation Rental Act] the broker must return the funds the broker continues to hold in their trust account to the tenant. Similarly, the landlord, and not the broker, is responsible for returning to the tenant the money the landlord received as an advanced disbursement. A landlord who refuses to return money to a tenant may be subject to a civil suit by the tenant.”
The Beacon urges vacation property owners who are affected by the Commission’s decision to contact their brokers if they have not already heard from them.
Governor Roy Cooper’s latest executive order, No. 120, which takes effect at 5 p.m. Wednesday, closes “entertainment facilities without a retail or dining component” and “personal care and grooming businesses.” (See the text of the executive order, below.)
The shutdown of these businesses is in effect for 30 days, unless the order is rescinded or superseded.
According to the executive order, examples of such entertainment facilities include, but are not limited to:
*Bingo parlors, including bingo sites operated by charitable organizations.
*Bowling alleys
*Indoor exercise facilities (such as gyms, yoga studios, martial arts facilities, indoor trampoline and rock climbing facilities)
*Health clubs
*Indoor/outdoor pools
*Live performance venues
*Movie theaters
*Skating rinks
*Spas
*Gaming and establishments that allow gaming activities (e.g., video poker, sweepstakes, video games, arcade games, pinball machines or other computer, electronic or mechanical devices played for amusement)
Executive Order 120 also restricts “personal care and grooming businesses,” in which “individuals are in close proximity for extended periods of time, or service personnel are in direct contact with clients,” including, but not limited to:
*Barber shops
*Beauty salons (including waxing and hair removal centers)
*Hair salons
*Nail salons/manicure/pedicure providers
*Massage parlors
*Tattoo parlors
Sadly, but understandably, Executive Order 120 also prevents all visitors and non-essential health care personnel from visiting people residing in long-term care facilities, except for “certain compassionate care situations, for example, an end-of-life situation.”
Many such facilities already have restricted visitation to protect their residents who, because of senescent (aging) immune systems and/or underlying medical conditions are more vulnerable to COVID-19.
The restriction on mass gatherings applies to events or other forms of “convening” that bring together more than 50 people in a single room or single space at the same time, such as an auditorium, arena, or meeting hall, or “any other confined indoor or outdoor space.” This includes “parades, fairs and festivals.”
Governor Roy Cooper announced today that he has extended the closure of K-12 public schools in North Carolina through May 15 and has ordered hair and nail salons, gyms, health clubs, movie theaters, and other close-contact businesses to close by 5 p.m. Wed., March 25.
The Governor also banned mass gatherings of 50 people or more (down from 100).
OBX Today is also reporting that Dare County Health and Human Services and Vidant Health, which operates the Outer Banks Hospital, declined to release the number of tests performed locally, citing patient privacy. The fact that no one has tested positive for COVID-19 in Dare County may be mostly a function of the number of people who have been tested.
The Governor acknowledged today that a “lack of supplies” from the federal government has delayed the processing of COVID-19 tests in North Carolina.
There are now confirmed cases of COVID-19 in 45 of the state’s 100 counties.
The Beacon will update this post as more news becomes available.
Those of you who are on Facebook may wish to check out the Facebook page of N.C. State Senator Jeff Jackson, of Mecklenburg County, who regularly updates State action related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Dare County Emergency Management continues to encourage all citizens to respect “social distancing” and allow six feet between themselves and other people. There is no word yet on mandatory sheltering in place.
As of Wednesday, CNN reported today, 39 percent of the U.S. population–spread out in 12 states–will be subject to stay-at-home orders.
A beachtime Saturday in Southern Shores during spring break never looked like this before. (Photo by Andrew Darling)
I would like to revisit my response last week to the sudden news that the Southern Shores Town Council had scheduled a special meeting Friday to amend its Rules of Procedure. Because of time restraints, my response was not as coherent, well-researched, and thoughtful as I strive to be, and I would like to rectify that today.
I frankly was stunned that our elected officials thought it advisable to have a person-to-person meeting during a public-health emergency that is not only townwide, but countywide, statewide, and nationwide, in order to conduct business that was neither urgent not critical. The virus that causes COVID-19 is highly contagious, and we do not know yet how the Outer Banks will fare.
I described the decision to conduct this business during these uncertain and stressful times as arrogant. I think now it may be better described as uninformed and poorly reasoned.
Ask yourself: What sense would it make for Town officials to be compelled to meet in order to cancel a meeting in a declared state of emergency? During a global viral pandemic, no less?
I regret that I may have unfairly maligned what may have been good intentions, however (in my view) misguided. I appreciate that the Town Council is navigating uncharted waters without any paddles, including one that an experienced town manager would provide.
What I would say to Mayor Tom Bennett and our four Town Council members is this: If it looks like a bad idea to hold a public meeting, regardless of what you believe the Rules say, it is a bad idea. Don’t do it. And if you have any doubt, seek the opinion of Town Attorney Ben Gallop or one of his firm colleagues.
I would be very surprised if Mr. Gallop was consulted in the Council’s decision to hold last Friday’s non-emergency special meeting. But if he was, I respectfully disagree with any conclusion that led the way to the meeting being held.
MEETING WAS NOT ESSENTIAL
On the morning of Thursday, March 18, I had an exchange of emails with Town Councilman Jim Conners, who contacted me about publishing information regarding supermarkets and pharmacies that are providing pickups and deliveries. I applaud Mr. Conners for this community service. Town Hall should follow his example.
During our exchange, I asked the Councilman why the Council had decided to go ahead with the March 24 budget workshop session, which had been noticed on the Town website. At the time I knew of no other local government bodies that were holding in-person public meetings during the 15 days in March that the President’s coronavirus task force had identified as the critical containment period for COVID-19.
Although Governor Roy Cooper has not imposed a stay-at-home order on North Carolina, infectious disease specialists nationwide have been advising people to shelter at home and only go out for essential items, such as groceries and prescription drugs.
Why would the Town Council hold an ill-advised, nonessential meeting that, frankly, conveys a minimization of the threat posed by the public-health crisis we’re in?
In part, Mr. Conners replied: “Discussions are underway now on whether it’s more prudent to cancel the 3/24 meeting and defer all agenda items to the regularly scheduled April meeting. I think we should cancel it, but if they have it, I’d attend.” (Mr. Conners may have changed his mind about attending since last Thursday.)
Mr. Conners made no mention of the possibility of a special meeting. With his comments as background for me, I was all the more surprised that Mayor Bennett apparently signed an order later that same day to schedule the Friday meeting.
I did not see an online meeting notice when I checked the website at the close of business on the 18th. It was Thursday when I first saw it, and I had to make a snap decision as to how to treat it: Ignore it or wing it.
I winged it. I emailed The Beacon advisory board to solicit opinions, and Geri Sullivan graciously replied.
Background information about the meeting from Interim Town Manager Wes Haskett, Town Clerk Sheila Kane, and/or Mayor Bennett would have been extremely helpful, but the Town rarely prioritizes the dissemination of public information. It would still be helpful now, and I respectfully request it.
It would be a service to Town residents if one of the three just-named individuals would summarize the decisions that came out of the special meeting in several easy-to-read paragraphs. Residents should not be forced to watch a videotape. The Southern Shores Town website has too many links, as it is, and not enough staff-prepared news releases. Surely Mr. Haskett has a little extra time now.
I admit to viewing the meeting notice, which the so-called “meeting packet” posted later reproduced verbatim (what was the point of that?), with some suspicion. What possible urgency could there be in the three meeting agenda items, which were described as:
Cancel the previously scheduled March 24, 2020 budget work session;
Consideration of amendments to the Council’s Rules of Procedure allowing for cancellation or rescheduling (with appropriate notice) of meetings by the Mayor or any two Council Members during declared emergencies; and
Consideration of adoption of a policy for managing meetings with electronic participation of Council Members.
The notice further stated under an item described as “Council Deliberation” that “Council may take action on matters within the purview of the Purpose of the Special Meeting.” Such as?
I have learned in covering meetings of the “new” Town Council since last December that deliberations among members are occurring behind-the-scenes in non-public settings, and decisions reached by them are being presented to the public at open meetings without the public learning much about their deliberations. This is not my idea of openness nor do I believe it is the proper means to reach consensus.
I have no doubt that a majority of the Town Council (five members) is not gathering together at any time or place to confer nor is it engaging in simultaneous communication by “conference telephone or other electronic means,” so as to violate the State open meeting laws and the Council’s own open meeting policy. But I do believe that the Council is violating both the State’s and its own policy (Section 2 of the Rules of Procedure) in not conducting “deliberations” openly.
Hence, I have grown suspicious.
MY TAKE: JUST DO IT
If someone had asked me if the Mayor or Town Council could cancel a previously scheduled meeting during a time of crisis without amending the Rules of Procedure, I would have said: Of course. Just do it!
Rules and laws are not meant to be obstacles to protecting public health, safety, and welfare—especially during a declared emergency.
I find authority for canceling and/or postponing Town meetings in the Rules of Procedure as they are currently written, but I do not believe it is necessary to resort or defer to the Rules.
State law gives North Carolina counties and cities within those counties independent legal authority to declare a state of emergency and to impose emergency restrictions and prohibitions within their respective jurisdictions. (See N.C. Gen. Statutes 166A-19.22(b)).
Indeed, in the editorial that Dr. Michael Waldrum, who is CEO of Vidant Health, and Dr. Mark Stacy, who is Dean of the Brody School of Medicine, submitted to OBX Today, they call on “local officials throughout eastern North Carolina and the state to take more decisive action in response to this crisis to include making the bold and right decision to ask North Carolinians to shelter in place.
“This means,” they say, “staying close to home as much as possible and only going out if absolutely necessary, such as buying groceries or picking up medications. This is the right thing to do to save lives and is the right thing for our long-term economic interests.”
After the Mayor declared a state of emergency in Southern Shores on March 16, the Town issued a list of restrictions and prohibitions pertinent to government operations, among them the closure of both Town Hall and the Police Department building to the public. This list could have been amended—without the holding of a special meeting—to include the cancellation or indefinite postponement of all Town Council meetings until further notice, or something similar.
Instead, the wording of the meetings provision in the March 16 restrictions on government operations is confusing, indecisive, and weak. It makes no mention of Town Council meetings, only “meetings of all appointed Town advisory boards, commissions and committees,” which it specifies will be “modified to reduce vulnerability of people and property.”
The notice does not address the form such “modification” may take, and the idea that modifications may be sufficient to combat the spread of the virus strikes me as incredibly simplistic and ill-conceived.
A revised list of restrictions, apparently drafted March 21, now includes the sentence: “The March 24, 2020 budget work session meeting has been cancelled.”
This could have been accomplished without the staging of the special meeting.
As for the Rules, I find authority for canceling a Town Council meeting in the sections about quorum—you cannot have a meeting without one—and about the office of Mayor. In the latter section, the Rules specify that “The Mayor shall have the power to . . . (e) Adjourn in an emergency.”
I believe this language could be broadly interpreted to give the Mayor authority to “adjourn” an upcoming meeting by canceling it. It’s not an unassailable interpretation, but it is a defensible one, especially in a public-health emergency like the one we are facing. And who would challenge the Town on such an argument?
Now that I have had time to read some of other nearby towns’ Rules of Procedure–they’re all based on the same original source–I can appreciate that those in Southern Shores need updating and revising, but that task did not need to happen last Friday.
I trust it was not legal advice that compelled the Mayor and Town Council to believe a meeting was imperative. Legal minds are usually more imaginative and less rigid than that.
DEVELOPING A POLICY ON ELECTRONIC MEETINGS
I also had some concern about the Town Council hastily drafting and adopting a policy for “managing meetings with electronic participation of Council Members” during a declared emergency, instead of more thoughtfully preparing a policy, with due diligence, during a time of normalcy.
I strongly believe that the public, especially those who have technological expertise, should contribute to any discussion about such a policy.
The current Rules of Procedure provide for an official meeting of the Council to occur by “conference telephone of other electronic means of a majority” of members. (Section 2(c).) “Other electronic means” is very broad.
As I reported 3/19/20, N.C. law already permits a public body to hold a meeting by “telephone or videoconferencing,” as long as it provides a location and a way for the public to listen to the meeting. (The public body may charge each member of the public a fee (maximum of $25) to defray the cost of providing a location and equipment.) See N.C. Gen. Stat. sec. 143-318.13(a).
This statute, which was enacted in 1979, clearly has limited application to our current emergency situation. Nonetheless, I believe it would be incorrect to view it as an obstacle to achieving the desired aim of conducting essential Town business publicly at this time. That would be an unreasonable and foolish conclusion.
Governor Roy Cooper has been suspending the operation of State law almost on a daily basis with the executive orders he has issued—starting with closing public schools K-12 statewide. The Governor is not going to abandon municipal governments during the spring fiscal-year budget season, nor is he going to disadvantage taxpayers. Economic recovery is going to be a key component of how the State emerges from this unprecedented public-health emergency.
I would encourage Mr. Haskett and Southern Shores Town Finance Officer Bonnie Swain to reach out to their counterparts in Duck, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, and Nags Head to learn how they envision going forward with public town meetings. Duck and Nags Head are usually ahead of the curve. What are they thinking about doing?
Calls to our state legislative representatives would not hurt, either.
I also believe the Town should publish on the website the policy, if any, the three Town Council members who met last Friday adopted.
It was not my intention last week to make governance more difficult for our elected officials during this unusual and hazardous time. But I also view The Beacon’s role as that of a watchdog. Usually, however, I take more time to chew on things.
I conclude by saying that I question whether our elected officials and Town staff know how to be crisis managers. In a crisis, you need to let go of preconceived expectations and plans. You need to be able to think rationally and quickly and to adjust to changing circumstances in a short period of time. There is no business as usual.
In a crisis, you largely live in the moment, analyzing the evidence that you have before you. You do not make assumptions.
The “virus is moving much faster than we normally make decisions,” write Drs. Waldrum and Stacy, observing that “The data are clear: it has started to impact [eastern North Carolina] and the problem continues to grow.”
“We know the story and outcome if we do nothing more,” they say, “—we see it on the news and on social media every day. We know from history that bold and definitive actions can change the course for the better. . . .
“Community members must encourage the political bodies to be decisive, take action now and then support them. . . . We are confident we can flatten the curve. However, we must all stand up together, as one community, to get through this crisis.”
No sooner had The Beacon posted its last update than we got word that Hyde County officials have determined that the person they earlier reported as having tested coronavirus-positive actually lives in another county, where he or she has been isolating. The person apparently has more than one address and used his/her Hyde County address when he/she was tested. In fact, the person has not traveled to Hyde County nor had any contact with people living in Hyde County.
BREAKING NEWS: Hyde County announced today its first confirmed case of COVID-19, according to OBX Today. Hyde County, which includes Ocracoke Island, has not identified where the infected person is located. It has only said that he or she is in isolation, and that the county is tracing all close contacts the person has had.
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JUST A FEW SCIENTIFIC FACTS . . .
As you all know by now, a coronavirus is a category of virus that is so named because it is covered with crown-like spikes, like the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s ubiquitous illustration above.
The new coronavirus that has caused the COVID-19 pandemic is severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, or SARS-CoV-2, for short. COVID-19 is the respiratory illness that SARS-CoV-2 causes.
SARS-CoV-1, which emerged in China in 2002, is the human coronavirus most closely related to SARS-CoV-2.
SARS-CoV-1 infected over 8,000 people in 2002 and 2003, but it was contained before reaching anything approaching the spread of SARS-CoV-2. It was known simply as SARS. Eventually, its origin was confirmed to be zoonotic (animal to human)—traced to a family of bats commonly known as horseshoe bats.
You may have heard about Middle East respiratory syndrome, called “MERS,” which is caused by a betacoronavirus, which is a genus of the coronavirus.
MERS-CoV emerged in Saudi Arabia in 2012, and it, too, derives from bats. Camels are believed to be involved in the spread of MERS-CoV to humans, but it is not clear how.
Unlike SARS-CoV-2, MERS-CoV is not readily transmitted from human-to-human. MERS transmission typically occurs only after close contact with severely ill people. There have been outbreaks of MERS on the Arabian Peninsula and in South Korea since 2012, but they have been contained.
The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-19, which you may be reading about these days, was caused by a subtype of the influenza A virus, known as H1N1 influenza virus. A new strain of swine-origin H1N1 virus caused the swine flu outbreak of 2009.
The Spanish flu—apparently so-named because Spain was reporting news of the outbreak, when other nations were not—was an unusually severe and deadly strain of avian (bird) influenza.
Other facts that have been reported in the medical literature include:
CELL ENTRY: The new coronavirus binds to target human cells through the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor.
A receptor is a protein molecule in a cell or on a cell that functions as a lock or gateway. The S protein of SARS-CoV-2 acts as a key to unlock the receptor and enter the cell. (And that is as far as I will go with protein biochemistry.)
Receptors bind with substances such as hormones, neurotransmitters, drugs, and antigens (toxic substances), including viruses.
SARS-CoV-1 also entered the cell through the same receptor.
Some of you may recognize the angiotensin-converting enzyme (“ACE”) because you take an ACE-inhibitor for high blood pressure and/or other heart-related conditions. This enzyme is part of your body’s renin-angiotensin system, which regulates blood pressure and otherwise acts to maintain homeostasis, which you may think of as an equilibrium in your physiological processes.
According to The New England Journal of Medicine’s (NEJM) “Journal Watch” of medical news about SARS-CoV-1:
“High risk for severe COVID-19 disease has been assumed to be driven largely by waning innate immunity that comes with advanced age, but younger patients with cardiovascular disease or hypertension may have unappreciated risk.”
INCUBATION TIME: The mean incubation time for COVID-19 is about five to six days, according to a study published March 10 in The Annals of Internal Medicine.
The authors studied the case records of 181 patients who had visited Wuhan, China, or been in contact with an infected person before becoming symptomatic and testing positive for COVID-19 between Jan. 4 and Feb. 24, 2020. Fewer than 2.5 percent of these patients experienced COVID-19 symptoms within 2.2 days of exposure to the new coronavirus. Within 11.5 days of exposure, 97.5 percent of them were symptomatic.
These findings confirm the CDC’s current guidelines for quarantine.
According to the authors, the virus is “highly contagious” and is “primarily spread by droplets.” It is now well-known that asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic people can transmit the infection.
COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION: A community transmission of the virus is said to occur when the source of the infection is not known. The N.C. Dept. of Health and Human Services announced last week the first case in North Carolina of a community transmission of COVID-19. The person lives in Wilson, N.C., and is in isolation.
Community transmissions make the containment of the viral infection much more difficult. These are people diagnosed with the virus who are not in a high-risk area and have not been known to have any contact with other confirmed cases.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, remains The Beacon’s source for reliable information and trustworthy advice during this viral outbreak. (In my earlier life as a medical book author, I had the pleasure of communicating with Dr. Fauci, a brilliant physician-scientist and a kind and personable man.)
But Dr. Emily Landon, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Chicago medical school, made quite a splash yesterday at a news conference with her straightforward, clear, and urgent appeal to people to stay home. You may read about Dr. Landon’s address and hear some of it here:
Illinois is one of three states that have imposed stay-at-home orders on their populations. The others are New York and California. (Update 3/22/20: Connecticut and New Jersey also have imposed such orders.)
The Southern Shores Beacon 