Here in North Carolina there was a rally at the state capital today demanding that the coronavirus restrictions be relaxed.
Dozens of people, many wearing red, white and blue and waving American flags gathered outside the legislative building in downtown Raleigh Tuesday to protest the stay-at-home order that has shut down businesses and crippled North Carolina’s economy in an attempt to slow and contain the spread of coronavirus.
The order, issued March 27 by Gov. Roy Cooper, prohibits gatherings of 10 or more people, closes businesses not considers “essential,” and asks people to stay home other than trips to buy groceries, pick up prescriptions, visit a health care provider, exercise, care for family members, volunteer to serve the needy or visit a place of worship.
I’m sympathetic to merchants harmed by this, especially the mom-and-pop shops that don’t have long lines of credit and provide little more than a living for the owners.
But they’re not going to like being dead, either. The irony is that a serious, nationwide lockdown of about a month would stop the pandemic cold; half-measures are going to prolong the discomfort.