Recent editorials from North Carolina newspapers:
March 31
The Fayetteville Observer on how families can stay entertained while following social distancing guidelines:
These days, you will not hear the satisfied squeals of children as they clamor up various jungle gyms at the county’s playgrounds. Fayetteville-Cumberland parks officials decided to close the facilities last week to protect against COVID-19.
They preceded by several days Gov. Roy Cooper’s statewide, stay-at-home order, which went into effect at 5 p.m. on March 30. That order left the decision on parks up to local officials.
Here in Cumberland County, our leaders did the wise thing. Social distancing to try to maintain 6 feet between one another is not something easily maintained at a playground, most especially by children, who are less susceptible to the virus’ worst effects but, according to some experts, can likely spread it.
Playgrounds in one sense are purpose-designed for children and families to experience together with other families, in close proximity. How many parents that later become friends met at their children’s playground?
The county recreation centers are also closed, but the parks and trails are open. We consider this a reasonable compromise, considering social distancing is much easier to make happen out in nature.
Parks and the role they could play in potentially spreading the deadly coronavirus has caused some concern in our community. Making the rounds of Facebook and NextDoor last weekend was a picture of large group of youths playing sports at the ball fields at Lake Rim Park.
When Parks officials closed the playgrounds, they posted signs at highly visible locations to alert people. The Lake Rim gathering was another reminder that social distancing requires a commitment from all of us. Closings and executive orders will only go so far.
Meanwhile, the playgrounds being closed does place another burden on parents looking to occupy young children. Many parents have already been pressed into the secondary role of home-school teacher, as school buildings remain closed at least until May 15.
Parks officials seem conscious of their challenges and have encouraged people to go to a website that links to different children’s activities that can be done at home. (From the home page, look for “Educational resources for students & citizens.”)
For young children, there are printable PDF coloring sheets of city vehicles, including police cars and sanitation trucks. For older children, there is a long list of things to do at home with the kids. There are links to many virtual activities, ranging from field trips to museum visits, to visits to the zoo and a “classroom” for noted documentary filmmaker Ken Burns.
And this is to say nothing of a stroll, or a bike-ride that families can make through their own neighborhoods, which is very much allowed by the governor’s stay-at-home order.
Hopefully by summer, when we have this coronavirus monster contained, the playgrounds will be filled again with the squeals of children - in plenty of time to enjoy the splash pads.
Online: https://www.fayobserver.com
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March 29
The Winston-Salem Journal on a sheriff’s decision to temporarily suspend new gun permit applications:
The Wake County sheriff, Gerald Baker, has enough real problems to deal with right now, as do law enforcement officials everywhere. People who want to rush out and buy guns, and people who worry about gun rights more than, apparently, public health and safety, need to give him a break.
Overwhelmed with a huge surge in requests for permits for pistols and concealed carry, Baker suspended new applications until the end of April. Requests for those permits and for renewals surged last week to an average of 290 a day - more than triple the number before the coronavirus became a reality in Wake County.
Baker’s problem is obvious. By the time he called a halt, he already had 11 staff members in self-isolation for fear either they or their spouse might have the coronavirus. It’s only a matter of time before the virus affects more of the staff. In the meantime, the Wake County Sheriff’s Office has new demands to deal with, including helping to enforce that county’s shelter-in-place rules. Wake is one of the top three counties in North Carolina in reported coronavirus cases. Then there’s the way people were lining up out the door of the public safety center in Raleigh, risking spreading the virus to one another and to the staff.
Odds are people wouldn’t be getting their permits any time soon anyway. By the time he called a suspension, Baker’s office had a backlog of 755 pending applications. It would be different if Baker were keeping people from getting something essential - say food or medication. But more guns are not what people need, especially now.
People are afraid. Their lives are disrupted. Often, tempers fray. Panic buying is already causing problems. Panic buying of guns will only make things worse. People who work with victims of domestic violence warn of a likely spike in violence as the pandemic lockdown means people spend more time together in stressful circumstances. The sheriff’s office staff that processes gun permits will need to be more careful than ever, and certainly should not rush through an avalanche of applications.
Predictably, some gun rights groups rushed to complain about what they consider a violation of the Second Amendment. But Baker isn’t trying to take anyone’s guns away or even to keep people who have permits from buying guns. He’s simply saying that under the circumstances, the flood of applications is endangering the public health and interfering in his offices’s more essential work.
That makes so much sense that you’d think other public officials would be supporting Baker. But no, Republican state Sens. Warren Daniel of Burke County and Danny Britt of Robeson County called the suspension illegal and demanded that Baker rescind it. State Rep. Tim Moore, the speaker of the N.C. House, joined the chorus. The lawmakers are saying that people are already frightened, on edge and subject to paranoia and that buying guns will somehow help the situation - an argument that’s highly questionable, to say the least. Crowding into a line to get a gun permit or buy a gun will put people at more risk than not having a gun.
People need to calm down. We must be sensible and work together to weather this health emergency and its unavoidable economic and social consequences. Getting more guns is not going to help.
Online: https://www.journalnow.com
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March 27
The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer on the data available about North Carolina’s coronavirus cases:
At least once each day, North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services updates its data on coronavirus cases in our state. To get those DHHS numbers, simply go to the department’s coronavirus page, where you can find the current official NC case count, number of COVID-19 deaths, and the number of completed public and commercial tests. You also can find the number of cases and deaths in each county on a map below.
It’s helpful information, and DHHS has served North Carolina well with the availability of secretary Mandy Cohen, who has directly and thoughtfully answered questions in news conferences during the crisis. But residents of other states are getting information about the coronavirus that North Carolinians aren’t.
In neighboring Virginia, the Department of Public Health has provided a online demographic breakdown of the virus, including hospitalizations, with positive cases sorted by age groups, gender and race. On March 27, NCDHHS began adding demographic information about age and gender, but not race.
In Florida, the department of health goes even further, providing an elaborate county-by-county dashboard that includes hospitalization data. Florida also provides a detailed daily summary of persons being monitored and persons under investigation.
Several other states provide residents with similar details, but the model for state-level COVID-19 data might be Oklahoma. There, health officials have provided an additional update that includes data on available ventilators and hospital occupancy, as well as the number of available beds in ICUs, operating rooms and pediatric units.
North Carolina has access to at least some of this data. Last week, the News & Observer asked DHHS for demographic information - age or age range, gender, race and zip code - of COVID-19 patients across North Carolina. Other than age and gender numbers released for the first time on March 27, DHHS has not responded.
Why is such information important? It can help improve understanding of the virus and its spread among North Carolinians, and it can accentuate issues and dispel myths that contribute to that spread. For example, Mecklenburg County released demographic information earlier this month that showed nearly 50% of cases were in people under the age of 40 - a number that might have surprised younger people who thought they were less vulnerable. Similarly, the statewide numbers released on March 27 showed that people under 50 make up 61 percent of positive tests.
Does the data give us a full picture of COVID-19? No, and as N.C. epidemiologist John Wallace cautions, demographic data is a snapshot that only reflects known cases. They don’t say where infected individuals may have gone and how they became infected. “They shouldn’t be used to determine who is at risk and where,” Wallace told the News & Observer.
Still, such information provides a more detailed landscape of the coronavirus and, in turn, why doubters should take it more seriously. Detailed numbers might also prompt questions or reveal information about patterns and needs, and while officials say they don’t want to release information that might reveal the identity of an individual with coronavirus, that’s a bit of a red herring. State-level data - or even county-level demographics - do not bring risk to individual privacy.
To be clear, we appreciate the critical information DHHS provides, as well as the transparency officials have shown in public briefings. We don’t believe officials are trying to hide data from the public. But as other states and counties have demonstrated, such information is available. It’s useful and potentially valuable. North Carolina should provide it to people who want to better understand the crisis around them.
Online: https://www.newsobserver.com
Online: https://www.charlotteobserver.com
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