County commissioners in several North Carolina counties are urging Governor Roy Cooper to give them the authority to ease stay-at-home orders. Various news outlets report local officials in Gaston, Lincoln and Wilkes counties have reached out to the governor's office.
Amy Galey is chair of the Alamance County Board of Commissioners. She said she was inspired to write to the governor after looking at a map that shows the variance of COVID-19 cases across counties. The letter signed by her board encourages Cooper to consider a regional approach to lifting restrictions.
"So that the counties that have felt less of an impact, can go back to normal course of living and then the counties that have had a severe impact can continue in the restrictions that are needed to keep the people healthy and safe," she said.
Galey noted that local governments have the power to maintain stricter orders when needed. Governor Cooper has said he will give more details later this week on a plan for how and when to ease restrictions.
