Even though I have been living in Spain for 50 years, there are states in the USA that I still have a personal connection with. One of them is Texas where one of my sons lives (www.timesofcoronavirus, April 25). Another is Florida, where I grew up, and still another is North Carolina, where I went to college.
When I arrived at Chapel Hill, North Carolina in 1967, UNC had only just begun to accept female students. Until then, it had not been co-ed, and the male-female ratio was about 10:1. Since I had attended an all-girls high school, I was amazed at the degree of masculine attention proffered at the university, which at times was even a bit overwhelming.
For example, to get to the cafeteria, one had to run the gauntlet of the Law Lizards (UNC law students), who sunned themselves on the benches outside of the Law Faculty and voiced their appraisal of each female student who walked past. Although I did not know it at the time, this was preparation for my unforeseeable future in Europe. Little did I know that the Law Lizards were only a pallid reflection of the young men that I would later encounter in Italy and Spain.
My feminist daughter has since informed me that besides being a victim of the Patriarchy, I was also a victim of sexual harassment, but I was not aware of this at the time. Fortunately, I managed to survive the experience.
Two years later, I left UNC and went on my great European adventure. This interrupted my studies, but I eventually managed to graduate five years later, thanks to correspondence courses. (This was back in the pre-digital era when it was necessary to mail in assignments.)
However, over the years, I never lost touch with North Carolina since I and my ever-growing family periodically visited my brother and his wife, who still live in Raleigh. As Montessori schoolteachers, they were the only people with the sufficient patience, forbearance, and good humor to survive one of our summer visits.
In Times of Coronavirus, North Carolina has been affected by the pandemic. Today, the state had 28,794 cases and a death toll of 937. Considering that this was the death toll in Spain for a single day back in April, these statistics are admirable. These numbers are also very good when compared to those next door in Georgia.
Both North Carolina and Georgia have a population of about 10.5 million and are located in the Deep South, but Georgia has over 20,000 more CoVid cases than North Carolina and its death toll is over 2000. Georgia also has 193 deaths per million in comparison to North Carolina’s 89 deaths per million.
These numbers seem to indicate that Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina is an ‘A’ student in Pandemic 101. One would think that this course would not be especially difficult to pass. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published a set of reopening guidelines. To get a good mark in this course, it is only necessary to read and apply them. This is something that Governor Roy Cooper has done more successfully than his less brilliant classmate, Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia.
However, North Carolina now faces another difficult challenge. The Republican National Convention is currently scheduled to be held in Charlotte, North Carolina on 24-27 August, 2020. Charlotte applied for this honor two years ago in 2018. In normal times, any state would kill for the opportunity of hosting the convention of a political party.
If the convention takes place in North Carolina, it is estimated that over 50,000 people will travel to Charlotte. Of course, not all will be able to actually attend the convention since Charlotte’s Spectrum center has a capacity of about 20,000.
The money spent by delegates, media, and attendees would translate into tons of revenue for the state and would be a huge boost for the economy. President Trump would also be there as the vedette of the show. As the French would say, this would be an “embarras de richesses”.
Unfortunately, Times of Coronavirus are not normal times. By August, Covid-19 will still not have disappeared. Protocols must thus be designed to guarantee that no virus outbreak is triggered by so much political togetherness. A risk-free convention in Charlotte would require a detailed plan that reflects how to safely conduct a large-scale event amid the coronavirus pandemic.
However, up until now, the Republican organizing committee and North Carolina officials have not been able to agree on who should propose the protocols for the convention. The Republicans say that North Carolina should design the plan, and North Carolina says that the Republicans should design it.
The hot potato is being fobbed back and forth because the logistics of a safe convention are somewhat complex, especially when the two parties involved do not envisage the event in quite the same way. Whereas President Trump insists on a full convention arena with no face covering or social distancing, Governor Cooper quite logically prefers a scaled-back event with fewer attendees. These two visions are not compatible.
Questions still to be answered are the following: (1) How would convention officials enforce preventive measures and disinfection protocols; (2) what precautions would be taken for asymptomatic attendees; (3) how would Republicans test the (at least) 20,000 people they expect to fill Charlotte’s Spectrum Center arena.
So far, the only initiatives proposed by the Republican Party consist of daily healthcare questionnaires, pre-arranged transportation, and various gallons of antibacterial gel. In consonance with the president’s wishes, there would be no facemasks or social distancing since that might dim the gaiety of the event and dampen the celebratory mood.
The NC state government thinks that these issues should be addressed. In a letter to the Republican Convention Organizers, Dr. Mandy Cohen MD, Secretary of the NC Department of Health and Human Services, mentioned the need to consider CDC guidelines and said that even though North Carolina was in Phase 2 of easing restrictions, during the previous week the state had had its highest day of new lab-confirmed Covid-19 cases and that there had been a rising number of hospitalizations. Health safety considerations are thus paramount, at least in North Carolina.
The Republican committee seems to think that such concern is excessive since the convention is scheduled for August, which is still a month and a half away. President Trump’s crystal ball has obligingly informed him that by August, the country will be in good shape. However, this prediction should be taken with a grain of salt since about a month ago he estimated that the maximum number of coronavirus deaths would be 60,000 (deaths are now 106,195).
Anyway, in an effort to be helpful, I thought that I would lend the Republican Party a hand since I have experience in the organization of mass gatherings (final exams). Perhaps I could find a way to resolve the impasse.
So, I looked at the CDC website to check out the official recommendations to be considered for the plan. Quite simply, there are none. Large gatherings of 50,000 people are so insane that they are not even contemplated. The only guideline is the following:
“CANCEL community-wide mass gatherings (for example, >250 people) or move to smaller groupings.”
According to the CDC (or anyone whose IQ is higher than room temperature), a safe convention of 50,000 people is not possible.
In Spain, we know all about such things. On 8 March, one mass protest march for National Woman’s Day was sufficient to trigger the explosive spread of the virus throughout the country. Over the next two weeks, patients and dead bodies filled hospitals (and morgues) to overflowing. It happened that quickly, and we are still picking up the pieces.
June 3 is the day when the venue of the convention must be decided. Hopefully, the right decision will be taken.
