Nurse Gives Her Reasons for Wanting COVID-19 Restrictions to End in North Carolina

Protesters returned to Raleigh, North Carolina, on April 28 to call on the state government to ease restrictions put in place to contain the spread of COVID-19 and let businesses reopen.

This video was recorded by Michele Manley Morrow, a nurse who attended the protest in favor of ending restrictions in the state. Manley Morrow said, “It’s time for us to reopen America. It’s time for us to reopen North Carolina,” and criticized Gov Roy Cooper, who, she said, has “done nothing to communicate with the people of North Carolina.”

Manley Morrow argued that states that have not been severely hit by COVID-19 should be allowed to reopen, and said that “we cannot allow the issues in big cities to control the rest of our country,” adding that she believes worse-hit states like New York should reopen at a slower pace.

Speaking at the edge of the protest crowd, Manley Morrow also addressed the reported trend that people sick with illnesses other than COVID-19 are not seeking medical care, and said “people are dying from things other than COVID because they can’t go and they can’t have their surgeries and their doctors offices are closed. They’re not wanting to go to the hospital because of fear.”

A number of health care workers staged a counterprotest at the scene, according to reports.

WRAL reported that two people were arrested during clashes with police for “walking on the sidewalk outside” the governor’s mansion.

As of April 28, there were 9,568 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in North Carolina and 342 deaths, according to the state’s Department of Health and Human Services. Credit: Michele Manley Morrow via Storyful