Gaston says stay-at-home order won’t ‘fix anything,’ supports businesses who defy it

Gaston County leaders sparked confusion Wednesday by encouraging businesses to reopen while acknowledging that Gov. Roy Cooper’s executive order keeps most of them closed through at least May 8.

The county issued an order saying the county is “poised to reopen” once Cooper’s restrictions expire or are rescinded. Because the order took effect at 5 p.m. Wednesday, it could be read as saying businesses could open immediately.

That drew a sharp rebuke from Cooper’s office.

“This order’s only effect is to create confusion during a public health emergency, which is dangerous,” spokesman Ford Porter said. “The Gaston County order itself says that the statewide Stay At Home order remains in effect, and state leaders urge people to continue following it.”

The county then issued a clarifying statement.

“From a function standpoint, Gaston County Government will continue to follow all state laws, including Gov. Cooper’s executive order,” it said. “At no point would county leadership ask its staff or county residents to break the law.”

The mayors of 12 Gaston County municipalities, including Gastonia, issued a joint statement late Wednesday “to address the perception that anything has changed” about businesses reopening. The county is still under Cooper’s restrictions, they said.

“We will therefore follow the Governor’s orders, and we encourage all businesses and citizens to do the same so that we can continue to slow the spread of the coronavirus,” the statement said.

But the all-Republican county commissioners also issued a statement, which has no legal weight, asserting that businesses and churches have constitutional rights to open anyway.

“Legally they can’t and we can’t tell someone to break the law in an official government document,” commissioners’ Chairman Tracy Philbeck said in an interview. “But that’s why we wanted to also make clear that we support your right to work. We’re not going to stand in the way of people who want to work.”

Philbeck later said in a Facebook “town hall” that the county is exploring ways to sue Cooper over the restrictions.

‘One-size-fits-all’

The revised order commissioners signed says restaurant dining rooms, theaters, gyms and houses of worship could reopen once the state restrictions end if they follow White House safety guidelines.

The order actually goes further than the state restrictions by setting mandatory requirements for long-term care facilities, the county attorney said.

“The order states in very clear terms that the state’s order is still binding law on our people, but once those are lifted, this is how we plan to go about reopening our county,” county attorney Jonathan Lee Sink said in an interview.

Sink pointed to the state constitution’s promise of citizens’ rights to “enjoyment of the fruits of their own labor” and freedom of worship. Sink added that despite Cooper’s closing of nonessential businesses, the state has freely deemed businesses as essential when they request it.

Philbeck told reporters Wednesday that the commissioners’ reopening order position was based on relatively low coronavirus numbers in the county and the availability of hospital capacity. Reopening, he said, would help save local businesses that have been decimated by Cooper’s “one-size-fits-all” restrictions.

“If we continue the stay-at-home order, it will not have a good effect for Gaston County and we will maybe not have anything to come back to,” he told reporters Wednesday morning during a virtual press conference.

The county recorded its first coronavirus death on April 1. By Tuesday, it had counted 140 coronavirus cases and three deaths, according to county data. Of the people who tested positive for the disease, 121 have recovered, the county said.

Neighboring Mecklenburg County, whose 1.1 million population is five times that of Gaston, has seen more than 1,500 cases and 45 deaths.

Philbeck told reporters the order he signed allows any business to reopen if they follow social distancing and hygiene protocols.

“We’re giving citizens an opportunity to make a choice,” he said. “The government denied them the opportunity to make a choice.”

Asked whether the state or county directives would be enforced, Philbeck said “self-policing” would be encouraged.

“The message is not, the Gestapo is coming after you,” he said.

Business reaction

Business owners had mixed reactions to the county’s action.

Jessica Cummis, franchisee for Famous Toastery in Belmont, said that even though she may be able to reopen, she doesn’t have the money. She’s still waiting on her applications for a disaster loan and the stimulus funding for small businesses.

Even if she had the money, Cummis said, it would take a few weeks to rehire staff and get the right inventory. And opening could be a risk, especially with the lack of clarity around whether the county has the authority to allow businesses to open. She doesn’t want to have to spend the money to reopen if she has to shut down again.

“Worst case scenario, they’re unleashing Pandora’s box,” she said.

Matthew Crawley, a 38-year-old Gastonia resident, said he supports the county’s reopening order. He said the shutdown isn’t sustainable, and that people need to be able to support themselves. He said he would be comfortable going out, but would keep his distance from people.

“I just don’t think it’s the government’s right to call somebody else’s means for making a living non-essential,” he said.

Theaters, restaurants may reopen

The county’s order says vulnerable people should continue to stay home. Other people should keep their distance from others, it says, and avoid gatherings of 10 or more where social distancing isn’t practical. Employers should continue to encourage telework.

Schools and youth activities that are now closed should stay closed, the order says, and bars remain closed. But the order allows theaters, restaurants, churches, sporting venues and gyms to operate with social distancing and elective surgeries to resume.

In its message to residents Wednesday, county officials said: “large gatherings, banquets, and concerts continue to be restricted. The restrictions on long term care facilities and nursing homes are also very much in place. Businesses governed by licensing boards at the state level are encouraged to consult with their respective boards.”

“You’ll also have a choice ... To make the decision to go back to work and do so in a safe manner,” Philbeck said. “I don’t really know who will open up or who will close but I trust our citizens and I trust they will take COVID-19 very seriously.”

Philbeck credited social distancing with slowing the spread of the virus. But he disagreed with state health officials by asserting that staying home during the pandemic isn’t a solution and that, long term, it “doesn’t fix anything.”

CaroMont Health, which serves Gaston County, said it continues to see signs that the ‘Stay at Home’ measures have helped limit the spread of COVID-19. Hospitals across North Carolina report an abundance of available beds, intensive-care beds and ventilators, the state Department of Health and Human Services said.

Gaston County issued a stay-at-home order effective March 27 through April 16. The county’s move, which took effect one day after Mecklenburg’s, came after an abrupt one-day doubling of COVID-19 cases.

But by April 9, Philbeck was urging Cooper to let individual counties decide what restrictions they need after a statewide stay-at-home order expired on April 29. Cooper later extended the order to May 8.

By April 21, when the county had tallied 120 coronavirus cases but had seen “no new significant rise in cases,” Gaston officials announced they were preparing for a gradual reopening of the local economy.

Staff writer Jim Morrill contributed.

This story was originally published April 29, 2020 at 11:33 AM with the headline "Gaston says stay-at-home order won’t ‘fix anything,’ supports businesses who defy it."