STATE NEWS BRIEFS FOR 04-23-20
GOV. COOPER SEEKING TO EASE RESTRICTIONS OF STAY-AT-HOME ORDER
[RALEIGH] In the midst of neighboring Southern states, like Georgia, relaxing their restrictions on public mobility, Gov. Roy Cooper has said he is working now on plan on how to ease his stay-at-home order for North Carolina. He cautions that his modifications “must be made in a responsible…staged way. The governor said he also plans to announce what then future of schools will be. Public schools have been closed until May 15.
CHIEF JUSTICE BEASLEY DIRECTS MAGISTRATES TO CONTINUE PERFORMING MARRIAGES
[RALEIGH] North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley has emergency ordered all magistrates in the state to continue performing marriage ceremonies, but do so according to new social distancing restrictions. That means magistrates can limit the number of people attending the ceremony, and can even determine the scheduling. Magistrates perform 25,000 marriages a year in North Carolina.
1,000 REOPEN NC PROTESTORS MARCH IN RALEIGH
[RALEIGH] Approximately 1,000 protestors from across the state came to Raleigh Tuesday, demanding that Gov. Roy Cooper withdraw his stay-at-home orders that have closed businesses, and put hundreds of thousands out of work during the coronavirus plague. The overwhelmingly white crowd denied the science behind the social distancing restrictions, even confronting a group of nurses on the steps of the state Archives at one point. Health experts say it is too soon to lift restrictions until more testing is done.
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NCNAACP FILES SECOND SUIT
DEMANDING RELEASE OF
NONVIOLENT PRISONERS DUE
TO CONRONVIRUS
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
The NCNAACP this week filed a second suit against Gov. Roy Cooper, Secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety Erik Hooks, and other state officials, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, and petition for writ of mandamus.
“The over 34,000 adults and hundreds of youth incarcerated in this state live in close proximity and often unsanitary facilities. They cannot engage in the social distancing that experts and Governor Cooper have ordered the rest of us to undertake in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” the April 20th suit states.
“When more mass outbreaks in North Carolina prisons occur, the people locked in those prisons will have no choice but to rely on a system that is unequipped to handle a novel, deadly virus that has overwhelmed healthcare systems around the world. Given these dire circumstances, North Carolina public health experts have urged that “reducing the prison population is a critical measure that must be acted on immediately.”
Normally. approximately 2,000 inmates are released from the state correction facilities a month, the suit maintains. Thus far in light of the coronavirus pandemic, Cooper and Hooks have only committed to releasing 400.
Release of only approximately 400 people will not allow for the social distancing needed to ensure the people in DPS custody will be safe during the pandemic, and Governor Cooper and Secretary Hooks have not announced a plan to release significantly more.
“In the face of widespread and avoidable loss of life, Plaintiffs ask this Court for declaratory and injunctive relief requiring Defendants to comply with their obligations under Article I, Section 27 of the North Carolina Constitution to ensure that no person incarcerated in North Carolina prisons is subject to cruel or unusual punishment.”
The suit goes on to say that COVID-19 is a “death sentence, and that “due to the severe shortage in testing, the true scope of COVID-19
infections inside the DPS 52 adult prisons and 4 Youth Development Centers across the state remains unknown. Neuse Correctional Institution has seen the state’s biggest outbreak. There, DPS has confirmed 239 infections in a population of over 700.”
After citing which articles of the North Carolina Constitution the state is violating by not immediately removing nonviolent inmates from the prison population, the lawsuit petitions the court to take any and all steps necessary to prevent the continued exposure of those in prison to COVOD-19, including ensuring [the state’s] compliance with the relic ordered.”
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AFRAID TO GO TO
DOCTOR, BE EXPOSED
TO COVID-19? TRY
TELEHEALTH
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the NC Department of Health and Human Services, and NC Medicaid are reaching out to the African-American community, recommending that it begin using “Telehealth,” a new method using a computer, smartphone or telephone to keep scheduled appointments, and speak with your health provider, for those who are afraid to leave home, and possibly expose themselves to the virus at their doctor’s office.
“We know that communities of color are being harder hit by COVID-19 than others,”NCDHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen told her agency via video this week, urging them to pay particular attention the 38% disproportionate cases and deaths in the black community.
Telehealth is seen as a way to make sure that African-American patients receive the timely observation they need, especially during this health pandemic. It has become a vital tool when it comes to connecting rural patients with their doctors.
Telehealth is available through mobile apps such as MD Live, FaceTime, WhatsApp video chat and Skype and video conferencing platforms such a Zoom or WebEx.
Patient portal message and telephone calls without video are also considered “Virtual Health” visits. Just call your doctor’s office and inquire about using Telehealth for your next appointment.
African-Americans, notably, have not used Telehealth out of concerns for confidentiality privacy, but health officials assure that the practice is secure.
Patients can receive therapy, mental health and some development disability services through Telehealth. And if Medicaid patients fear that they may be sick, they are advised to stay at home, call either their doctor or 1-1877-490-6642 for advice. If you feel that you have COVOD-19 symptoms, again, stay at home, but keep yourself away from your family if you’re experiencing shortness of breath, difficulty breathing chest pain or pressure, and call 911.
Telehealth is covered by Medicare, Medicaid and Blue Cross-Blue Shield of NC.
“Technology is evolving quickly and our ability to assist our most vulnerable citizens through creative uses of this tool has vastly increased,”NCDHHS staff wrote in a report to the NC General Assembly in 2018.
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