1/ Cooper presser: NC metrics, vaccines (65+ and frontline workers). 3/10 more people eligible. More stdts returning to classroom. Getting kids into classrooms critical for their health. Schools serving 96% is stdts will offer in-school instruction (fails to mention NOT plan A).
2/ SB37: reiterates why he won’t sign, but doesn’t say he’ll veto. (Aside: if it really was about the KIDS, why is he stringing them along? Playing politics w/kids’ lives has deleterious long-term effects.) NC trends ⬇️ & stabilized. Cohen: we’ve used data to guide approach.
2/ NC can be proud of our data quality/transparency. 🙄 Bloomberg rated NC as best in nation on vax race/ethnicity quality. (Aside: this doesn’t mean NC doing well w/vax rollout. Shows data/graphs that eerily resemble other historical virus graphs. Hospitalizations still high. 
3/ Yellow lines for everything despite ⬇️ in all trends. Cites variants, need to keep guard up, % still >5%, hospitalizations still up (fails to cite domino effect of fear caused by Cooper -> people afraid to seek medical care last year). Discusses county metrics.
4/ We see good progress. Shows maps. Guess what she FAILS to mention? TODAY, we have 39,798 active cases in NC. This means 0.379% of NC population has Covid. Conversely, this means 99.621% of NC population does NOT have Covid. Yet this:
5/ Variants are wildcard. 3 W’s. “We’ve seen how fragile progress can be.” (Aside: just so people can understand Covid seasonality, here’s a pic from CDC that shows 10/2019 to 10/2020 - see the resemblance?)
6/ Cooper: easing but not lifting restrictions starting 2/26. Lifting modified SAH (no curfew) but mask mandate still in effect. Because evidence (fails to cite). 50% occupancy ok, can sell alcohol thru 11 pm:
7/ Bars now allowed open. Mass gathering limit ⬆️‘d to 25 indoors/50 outdoors. This seems contradictory... 🤔🧐
8/ “Today’s action is show of confidence/trust; must remain cautious.” (Aside: @PeteKaliner did great podcast w/atty discussing how Cooper loosens restrxns when lawsuits/legislation come up, since Covid EO’s could get tossed by judge; Cooper wants to retain “emergency power.”)
9/ “We need to continue to work so we can turn the corner.” (Aside: but seasonality...) Axios Charlotte Q: are we at turning point? Are you worried about backslide? Cooper: we’ve followed science/data since Day 1. We’ve seen #’s decline in last month (aside: b/c seasonality).
10/ People pulling together & following orders, wearing masks. Always said if people comply, we’ll continue lifting restrxns. (Aside: does anyone see a problem w/this?!?) Still have capacity restrxns in place. Will keep emphasizing mask/distancing. (+) step; if we can move
11/ forward, we will but will do what’s necessary to keep people safe. ABC11 Q: businesses hit hard; does this do enough to get NC back to work/jumpstart economy? Cooper: many businesses have been hit w/pandemic, period. Many people taking *themselves out of commerce/retail.
12/ We’ve had growth in other areas. Other areas not doing well. State/fed govt need to help these people. We’re a great place to visit. We’re still in middle of pandemic. (Aside: non-answer, points finger at others vs seeing how he’s ruining our economy. Other states are OPEN!)
13/ Easing restrxns can help these businesses & this won’t bring them back. F/U Q: summer concerts/festivals - can they open? Cooper: 30% capacity starting Fri. Health officials feel better re: outside vs inside. Cohen: ditto, but still wear mask. WRAL: metrics - how much do you
14/ base your decisions on your constituents? Cooper: we talk to them. We base our decisions on science/data. If #’s weren’t down, we wouldn’t listen to anyone. (Aside: what science/data is he using?) F/U Q: what message does this send to companies w/remote employees?
15/ Dimmer switch approach. Still work remote if can. Cohen: ditto. But 50% of counties red/orange. Variants. Keep guard up. (Aside: 99.621% of entire NC pop does NOT have COVID) N&O Q: are state agency workers going to work remotely & how much have sports/bars factored into your
16/ timing? Cooper: (seems miffed & scoffs) “We’re sticking to the science & data!” Also encouraging remote work. F/U Q: SB37, 20 districts still won’t be open. Why don’t you just mandate schls open w/protocols you want? Cooper: local control good, still recommending open. If
17/ NCGA wants to pass something fixing 2 issues, I’ll sign it. (Aside: fails to say he’ll veto... how many days has it been on his desk now? 🤔) CBS17: why is it safe to open bars now when you said they were places that spread virus? Cohen: trends down. Dimmer switch. We have
18/ power to change minds. Masks. Watch trends. (Aside: seasonality.) This is all b/c people have worked hard x1 yr. Also vax. F/U Q: how confident are you that you won’t reverse your decision? Cooper: b/c science/data! (Aside: look at other states; they’re fine. We will be too.)
19/ If we see variant causing problems, we’ll “do what we need to do.” AP Q: in 2 wks, you’ll be eligible to get vax; will you, & can tchrs get vax on campus? Cooper: yes. Cohen: some have vax sites, some don’t. Many ways can access vax but supply limited + shipping delays.
20/ Fox8 Q: concerns about spring break surge? Cooper: Always concerned about surge. Had peak in Dec/Jan b/c of holidays/get-togethers. 😞 (Aside: seasonality; see ILI curve in previous tweet; people indoors more in cold climates). Vax will help. F/U Q: remote learning led to
21/ sexual predators in Triad accessing female stdts/abductions thru communicating w/thru schl computers/chromebooks. What can state do? Cooper: deeply troubling; I worked w/law enforcement when I was AG on that. “It also puts responsibility on... I’ll tell ya I’m... (aside: for
22/ a minute I thought he’d put responsibility on schls but then he pivoted to...) parents! They do so much! WBTV Q: how are you ensuring seniors aren’t getting skipped when you open up vax to more groups soon? Cooper: we gave seniors long runway. Still trying to seek them out.
23/ Have gotten 50% vaccinated. New vax (J&J) coming out. F/U Q new reporter: J&J vax - will you get? Details? Cohen: waiting for EUA. Might get 50-60k doses here but not sure. Still don’t know how we’ll get them out. F/U Q: variants - how much surveillance? Sending to CDC, then
24/ report. Presser ends.
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