Cohen asks lawmen, counties to fine businesses

RALEIGH — An executive order from the governor set to expire Friday has been extended three weeks to 2020’s final Friday the 13th.

And his leader of the Health Department is asking lawmen and counties to fine businesses.

There is no change for businesses, entertainment venues or any other entities in Executive Order No. 170, the 54th from Gov. Roy Cooper since he declared a state of emergency for COVID-19 in March. The Nash County native, a Democrat up for reelection against Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, said trends are moving in the wrong direction.

“We hope that greater enforcement, strong community leadership and more people doing the right things can lower these numbers,” he said at a press conference where, as he has done throughout the pandemic, didn’t allow reporters to be present. His staff screened who could ask questions by telephone, as has been his pattern.

North Carolina is the leader in the South of jobs lost, with more than 300,000 fewer than when the pandemic began.

Cabinet-level Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen, of the Department of Health and Human Services, blamed North Carolinians for the trends saying, “Folks put their guard down a bit. I think that’s the thing we want to make sure that folks are putting their guard back up, being vigilant as we go forward here.”

She authored a letter to officials in 36 counties, including Cumberland and Robeson adjacent to Bladen. In it, she called on lawmen and public health officials to fine businesses for not enforcing the statewide face covering mandate. She also asked them to be stricter than state guidelines with regard to gathering limits and alcohol sales, the latter of which already has a last call of 11 p.m. rather than 2 a.m.

She recommended closing bars and nightclubs in those counties, and limiting restaurant activities.

Forest, who has advocated for businesses and personal freedoms throughout his campaign, said Cooper and Cohen are punishing businesses that are simply trying to survive.

“He has repeatedly said he has full authority over his COVID shutdown, which means he also gets 100 percent of the responsibility,” Forest said. “Passing the buck to local businesses and municipalities is the antithesis of leadership.”

Cooper has faced pressure throughout the pandemic, practically since its beginning. When information was still new across the country and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was figuring out its warnings, Cooper went with them in March. The CDC on April 4 issued guidance for wearing face coverings; Cooper didn’t enact that measure until June 26.

Cooper issued a 30-day stay at home order at the end of March that lasted through April. The business closures sent more than a million North Carolinians into the unemployment cycle, and Cooper’s administration was chastized for not being able to handle the resulting impact at the Employment Security Commission.