JUST WEAR THE STUPID MASK: It shouldn’t be surprising, we guess, that during a public health crisis that’s become politicized, with the debate over staying at home becoming partisan, that the latest thing to become a red or blue badge is the simple act of covering your nose and mouth in public. Really? We’re fighting over face coverings? Just wear the stupid mask. It’s not caving to tyranny. It’s not a betrayal of the president. It’s not a sign that you’re sick. It’s a health measure in places where it’s difficult to socially distance. If you wear it, you protect others from your possibly asymptomatic COVID-19 self. If you wear it, you also protect yourself from others. It’s safer. That’s it. And yet, instead of being a simple collective action to slow a virus that’s killed tens of thousands of Americans, it’s become a flashpoint. Elected officials, notably including the president, say they won’t wear one. People are threatening and shoving and even wiping their nose on retail employees who tell them they need to wear one. What’s wrong with us?
https://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/editorials/article242570136.html

CARL FORD PUSHES FOR BIGGER RALLIES, SPONSORS ANTI-COOPER BILL: In a May 6 interview with Sen. Carl Ford, R-Rowan, ReOpenNC founder Ashley Smith credited Ford with helping to inspire her to start the group and asked him whether the rallies are working to put pressure on Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper to speed up the reopening process. Ford said the rallies are helping, "but I'd like to see us have 10,000 or 20,000 in Raleigh. That would really get the message across." Ford is one of three primary sponsors of a Senate bill that would dismiss criminal penalties for any business owner who violates the governor's emergency closure orders and protect business owners who have to be licensed from any potential disciplinary action by the relevant licensing authority. "I’m sure there’ll be a long and very exciting debate, including the Democrats trying to talk through their masks," Ford told Smith.
https://www.wral.com/coronavirus/state-lawmaker-calls-for-larger-reopen-rallies-in-raleigh/19088906/

PHASE 1 OF GOVERNOR COOPER'S REOPEN PLAN BEGINS FRIDAY: We’ll still have a stay-at-home order in Phase 1, but it’ll be modified to ease us into reopening. Prior to 5 p.m. on May 8, people were only supposed to venture out for essential tasks, such as grocery shopping and health care. During Phase 1, more businesses can open and people are allowed to venture out for more reasons. Businesses that do open have to implement social-distancing and cleaning rules, just like those currently in place at grocery and hardware stores. State parks can also open, but with limits on the number of people who can gather there. Businesses will still be encouraged to continue teleworking (working from home) when possible. We will live in Phase 1 for two weeks, as long as trends continue to move in the right direction. Even during Phase 1, public schools and non-essential businesses such as gyms and salons remain closed, but other activities will be allowed. If all goes well during Phase 1, Cooper suggested that Phase 2 can begin on May 22.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/coronavirus/article242508921.html

AVERY IS THE LAST REMAINING NC COUNTY WITH NO COVID 19 CASES: As state officials consider relaxing social restrictions by the end of the week, the coronavirus has now been recorded in all but one of North Carolina’s 100 counties. The state’s Department of Health and Human Services reported the first case in Yancey County, located on the western side of the state along the Tennessee border. That leaves only Avery County, another sparsely populated county in western North Carolina, as the lone county not to record a COVID-19 case. The state has now recorded 11,664 cases statewide in 99 counties. That’s a relatively small increase of 155 cases over Saturday’s updated total from DHHS. The state recorded two new coronavirus-related deaths Sunday morning, increasing that total to 422. The number of hospitalized patients dipped to 475, the first time that total has been below 500 since Tuesday.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/coronavirus/article242468216.html

JUDGE ORDERS NC PRISONS TO EXPLAIN COVID 19 PROTECTIONS FOR INMATES: A state judge on Friday demanded that North Carolina's prison system provide detailed information about how it's trying prevent the spread of the new coronavirus among offenders. “It is impossible for the court to determine whether specific practices and procedures undertaken at each of North Carolina's incarceration facilities comply with defendants' statutory and constitutional obligations,” Rozier wrote. He is seeking the information by May 8, after which he'll hold a hearing. Several prisoners and civil rights groups, which include the state NAACP and Disability Rights North Carolina, filed a petition three weeks ago with the state Supreme Court asking the justices to act. The Supreme Court dismissed the case but left open the door for the matter to be refiled in another court, Disability Rights attorney Susan Pollitt said Friday.
https://www.wral.com/judge-wants-more-info-on-north-carolina-prison-conditions/19081090/