GREENSBORO, N.C. — The unofficial start of summer kicked off over Memorial Day weekend. After spending the better part of April stuck inside and with restrictions easing a bit more as we enter Phase 2 many of our parks and beaches were crowded.
The loosening of restrictions comes with concern from state officials as they continue to preach social distancing while advising those in public to wear masks. Governor Roy Cooper reiterated that it's up to everyone to be responsible not only for themselves but for others during a recent news conference.
The new guidelines have some doctors and the CEO at Cone Health a bit concerned, “This is a highly contagious disease, the number of cases in Guilford County and our surrounding area and across the state are on the rise,” Terry Akin, Cone Health CEO said.
Hospitalizations across the state have increased over the past few days. Monday saw the most cases to date as 627 people were in the hospital and 621 remain there as of Tuesday. The concern is when you compare those numbers to a few weeks ago when our state hovered around 430 hospitalizations.
“I think the only way this works is for us to act as self-aware community members and we have to stay away from each other and wear face masks (in public),” Dr. Bruce Swords, Cone Health Chief Physician said.